Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Shares Purchased by DnB Asset Management AS

DnB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 23.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 129,635 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,591 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Welltower were worth $16,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WELL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 worth $12,388,151,000 after purchasing an additional 2,612,044 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,943,892,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 10.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,797,330 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position 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 valued at $489,585,000 after acquiring an additional 117,170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted 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 purchasing an additional 589,255 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WELL opened at $153.39 on Friday. Welltower Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.87 and a 12 month high of $158.55. The company has a market cap of $98.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 98.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50 day moving average is $145.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.52. The company has a quick ratio of 4.22, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WELL. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Welltower from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Mizuho upped their target price on Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $146.00 to $168.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Welltower from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.46.

Welltower 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.