Erste Asset Management GmbH Boosts Stock Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 81.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,328 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,128 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Welltower were worth $6,166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Welltower by 10.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,685,844 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,392,349,000 after acquiring an additional 1,797,330 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Welltower by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,428,564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,847,289,000 after purchasing an additional 3,977,845 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Welltower by 638.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,920,426 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $886,022,000 after purchasing an additional 5,982,711 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Welltower by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,066,213 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $776,657,000 after purchasing an additional 46,332 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Welltower by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,884,674 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $489,585,000 after purchasing an additional 117,170 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Welltower Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of WELL opened at $145.83 on Friday. Welltower Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.87 and a 1-year high of $158.55. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $140.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $133.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.48, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.20.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 171.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WELL shares. Wedbush raised Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com lowered Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $146.00 to $168.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average 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.