Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Price Target Raised to $106.00

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) had its price objective hoisted by Evercore ISI from $105.00 to $106.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an in-line rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on WELL. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Welltower from $115.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Mizuho increased their price target on Welltower from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Welltower from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a sector outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Welltower from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $109.58.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WELL opened at $120.68 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.83, a current ratio of 4.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $72.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 148.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $110.55 and a 200 day moving average of $100.85. Welltower has a 52 week low of $78.38 and a 52 week high of $121.70.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.08. Welltower had a return on equity of 2.21% and a net margin of 8.36%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Welltower will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This is an increase from Welltower’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 330.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Welltower

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

Institutional Trading of Welltower

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WELL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Welltower during the 4th quarter worth about $2,453,039,000. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Welltower by 26.4% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 29,236,326 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,731,842,000 after acquiring an additional 6,104,064 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Welltower by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 85,930,671 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,748,369,000 after acquiring an additional 5,173,079 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower in the first quarter worth approximately $309,917,000. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower during the second quarter worth approximately $254,977,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Welltower Company 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.