Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 1,200 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lessened its position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,600 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Welltower were worth $4,174,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Foundation Advisors acquired a new position in Welltower during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Welltower during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Welltower during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Welltower during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Welltower by 338.7% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 329 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on WELL. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Welltower from $103.00 to $107.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Welltower from $121.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective (up from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Welltower from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Welltower from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.38.

Welltower Price Performance

Welltower stock opened at $130.20 on Friday. Welltower Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.80 and a 12-month high of $132.66. The stock has a market cap of $79.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 126.41, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $125.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.95. The company has a current ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 4.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.08. Welltower had a net margin of 8.36% and a return on equity of 2.21%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. Welltower’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This is a boost from Welltower’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 260.20%.

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.