2,755 Welltower Inc. $WELL Shares Sold by Carret Asset Management LLC

Carret Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,339 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,755 shares during the quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Welltower were worth $8,597,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WELL. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of Welltower by 5.5% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 78,049,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $17,714,830,000 after purchasing an additional 4,045,458 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Welltower by 1.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 42,138,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,564,246,000 after purchasing an additional 578,033 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,425,089,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Welltower by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,814,621 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,227,642,000 after buying an additional 207,966 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Welltower by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,345,022 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,649,844,000 after buying an additional 57,938 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Stock Up 0.1%

WELL stock opened at $245.32 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.16, a current ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.97 billion, a PE ratio of 106.20, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.79. Welltower Inc. has a twelve month low of $181.47 and a twelve month high of $255.20. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $233.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $219.61.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.03. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.61% and a net margin of 12.08%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 38.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Welltower’s payout ratio is currently 147.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Andrew Gundlach bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $242.06 per share, with a total value of $1,210,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 30,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,261,800. The trade was a 20.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Purchased indirectly through two trusts. The transaction was executed in multiple trades at prices ranging from $241.59 to $242.59. The reported $242.06 price is the weighted-average purchase price. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Welltower from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Welltower from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Welltower from $266.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on Welltower from $238.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Welltower from $215.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Welltower currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $259.81.

About Welltower

Welltower Inc is a real estate investment trust focused on properties and services that support health care and aging. Its portfolio includes senior housing communities, outpatient medical facilities and post-acute care properties.

The company works with senior housing operators, health care providers and other partners to own, lease and manage properties. Its operations span the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Founded in 1970 as Health Care REIT, the company adopted the Welltower name in 2015.