Wealth Alliance Reduces Stock Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Wealth Alliance trimmed its position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,893 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 92 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Welltower were worth $239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WELL. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Welltower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 165.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Welltower Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE WELL opened at $148.69 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $133.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.25. The company has a market cap of $95.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 95.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.23. Welltower Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.87 and a 12-month high of $152.81. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.15% and a net margin of 11.91%. Research analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 171.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wedbush raised shares of Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.19.

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.