Wesbanco Bank Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 0.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,158 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 84 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Welltower were worth $1,685,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WELL. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Welltower during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. raised its position in shares of Welltower by 186.3% during the third quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 173,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $22,252,000 after buying an additional 113,100 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 2,118.4% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 56,324 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,211,000 after buying an additional 53,785 shares in the last quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department bought a new position in shares of Welltower during the third quarter worth $211,000. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Welltower during the third quarter valued at $225,000. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WELL opened at $129.25 on Wednesday. Welltower Inc. has a 12 month low of $80.80 and a 12 month high of $131.31. The company has a current ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 4.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $77.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 159.57, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $123.31 and its 200 day moving average is $108.86.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 2.21% and a net margin of 8.36%. Welltower’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. Research analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This is a boost from Welltower’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 330.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on WELL. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Welltower from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded Welltower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $135.00 price target (up previously from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Welltower from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.38.

About Welltower

Welltower Inc (NYSE:WELL), a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) and S&P 500 company headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, is driving the transformation of health care infrastructure. Welltower invests with leading seniors housing operators, post-acute providers and health systems to fund the real estate infrastructure needed to scale innovative care delivery models and improve people’s wellness and overall health care experience.