Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC Purchases 2,107 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC boosted its position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 0.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 706,395 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,107 shares during the period. Welltower accounts for approximately 2.7% of Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Welltower worth $66,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBW Capital LLC bought a new stake in Welltower in the 1st quarter valued at about $242,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Welltower by 26.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,865 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $178,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in shares of Welltower by 1.8% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 379,147 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,066,000 after buying an additional 6,572 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Welltower during the first quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its position in shares of Welltower by 180.7% during the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 118,400 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,063,000 after buying an additional 76,225 shares during the period. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Welltower Price Performance

WELL traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $112.76. The stock had a trading volume of 2,827,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,629,856. The company has a market cap of $68.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 139.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of $105.32 and a 200 day moving average of $97.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 3.83 and a current ratio of 4.07. Welltower Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.38 and a 1 year high of $115.33.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 2.21% and a net margin of 8.36%. Welltower’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Welltower’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is 301.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Mizuho upped their price target on Welltower from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Welltower from $96.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Welltower from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Welltower from $103.00 to $107.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.04.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kenneth J. Bacon sold 1,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.91, for a total transaction of $187,038.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,514,903.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Profile

Welltower Inc (NYSE:WELL), a 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 and infrastructure needed to scale innovative care delivery models and improve people's wellness and overall health care experience.