Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Holdings Raised by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 94,192 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 3,574 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Welltower were worth $11,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WELL. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Welltower in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $222,000. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower during the 3rd quarter valued at $216,000. Stephens Inc. AR raised its holdings in shares of Welltower by 57.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 10,610 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,358,000 after purchasing an additional 3,857 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. bought a new position in shares of Welltower during the 3rd quarter valued at $212,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Welltower by 53.7% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,610 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 1,261 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE WELL opened at $153.54 on Friday. Welltower Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.87 and a 1-year high of $153.90. The company has a market cap of $98.47 billion, a PE ratio of 98.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a 50-day moving average of $136.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $131.38.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 3.15%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 171.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WELL. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $146.00 to $168.00 in a report on Friday. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $132.00 to $147.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wedbush upgraded shares of Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $145.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Welltower from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.96.

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.