Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 10,227 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,585 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 10,227 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Welltower were worth $10,786,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WELL. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Welltower during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Welltower during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Welltower during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Welltower by 165.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Welltower during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WELL opened at $149.92 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $142.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 4.22. The stock has a market cap of $96.14 billion, a PE ratio of 96.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.20. Welltower Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.87 and a 1 year high of $158.55.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 3.15%. Equities analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is 171.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WELL shares. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Welltower from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wedbush raised shares of Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $145.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Welltower from $140.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Welltower from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.46.

Welltower Company 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.