Fmr LLC Buys 3,977,845 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Fmr LLC increased its stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 38.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,428,564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,977,845 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Welltower were worth $1,847,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Foundation Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Welltower during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Welltower during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Welltower in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Welltower in the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Welltower by 37.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 289 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Welltower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Welltower from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Welltower from $115.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Wedbush raised their price objective on Welltower from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Welltower presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $117.50.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of WELL stock opened at $138.96 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $86.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.42, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 4.10 and a quick ratio of 4.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $131.47 and its 200 day moving average is $117.65. Welltower Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.40 and a 1-year high of $140.19.

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

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Welltower’s payout ratio is 176.32%.

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.