Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Grows Stock Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,069,105 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,802 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Welltower were worth $134,739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WELL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Welltower by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 98,295,258 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $12,388,151,000 after purchasing an additional 2,612,044 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at $3,943,892,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Welltower by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,685,844 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,392,349,000 after buying an additional 1,797,330 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,884,674 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $489,585,000 after buying an additional 117,170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in Welltower by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,773,827 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $477,314,000 after acquiring an additional 589,255 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of WELL opened at $153.39 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $145.78 and a 200-day moving average of $135.52. The company has a market cap of $98.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 4.22 and a current ratio of 4.22. Welltower Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.87 and a 1 year high of $158.55.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WELL shares. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Welltower from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Wedbush upgraded Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $132.00 to $147.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.46.

Welltower Company Profile

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.