Natural Investments LLC Acquires New Shares in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Natural Investments LLC bought a new position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,641 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WELL. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC increased its holdings in Welltower by 49.7% in the 4th quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC now owns 23,006 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,899,000 after buying an additional 7,635 shares in the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 3,886 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $490,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group boosted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 4,247 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $535,000 after acquiring an additional 1,438 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its stake in shares of Welltower by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 12,813 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,764 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Welltower by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 7,261 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $915,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Price Performance

NYSE WELL opened at $147.36 on Thursday. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.87 and a 12 month high of $158.55. The stock has a market cap of $94.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.46, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50 day moving average is $140.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.35.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 3.15%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Welltower’s payout ratio is 171.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Welltower from $140.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Wedbush raised Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $146.00 to $168.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Welltower from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.19.

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.