Huntington National Bank Trims Holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Huntington National Bank cut its position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 3.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,459 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 173 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Welltower were worth $699,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Welltower by 26.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 29,236,326 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,731,842,000 after acquiring an additional 6,104,064 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower in the first quarter valued at $309,917,000. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Welltower in the second quarter valued at $254,977,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Welltower in the first quarter valued at $66,905,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Welltower by 24.6% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,112,452 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $220,223,000 after buying an additional 417,046 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WELL opened at $136.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 4.10 and a quick ratio of 4.10. Welltower Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.40 and a 1-year high of $140.19. The company has a market capitalization of $84.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.49, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50-day moving average of $130.20 and a 200-day moving average of $115.38.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.31). The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.20% and a net margin of 12.22%. The firm’s revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. Welltower’s payout ratio is 176.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WELL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush lifted their price target on Welltower from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Welltower from $115.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on Welltower from $121.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.68.

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.