Valmark Advisers Inc. Takes Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Valmark Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 1,932 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Welltower by 37.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 289 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Welltower by 165.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Welltower during the third quarter worth $50,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Welltower Stock Performance

NYSE:WELL opened at $150.54 on Wednesday. Welltower Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.87 and a 52 week high of $152.81. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $129.33. The company has a quick ratio of 4.10, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $93.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.23.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.20% and a net margin of 12.22%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Welltower’s payout ratio is 176.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WELL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price target on Welltower from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $147.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.19.

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.