Hartford Investment Management Co. Increases Stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Hartford Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,633 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Welltower were worth $4,617,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Welltower by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 289 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Welltower by 165.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower in the third quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower in the third quarter worth $59,000. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WELL shares. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Welltower from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on Welltower from $190.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.96.

Welltower Price Performance

Welltower stock opened at $146.49 on Thursday. Welltower Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.40 and a 52-week high of $148.50. The company has a market cap of $91.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.38, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $130.73 and its 200 day moving average is $128.27. The company has a quick ratio of 4.10, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 3.20%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 176.32%.

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.