Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Increases Stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 696.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 107,247 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 93,781 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Welltower were worth $9,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Welltower by 479.6% in the 3rd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 313 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Welltower by 117.8% during the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 342 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Welltower by 84.0% during the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 425 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Welltower during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Welltower Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WELL opened at $92.98 on Wednesday. Welltower Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.47 and a 12-month high of $94.63. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.25. The company has a current ratio of 3.22, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 145.28, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.08.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.79). Welltower had a return on equity of 1.47% and a net margin of 5.12%. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 23rd were paid a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 381.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WELL shares. StockNews.com lowered Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 29th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Welltower from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Welltower from $97.00 to $96.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Welltower in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Welltower in a research report on Monday, March 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $104.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Welltower has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.57.

Welltower Profile

Welltower Inc (NYSE:WELL), a 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 and infrastructure needed to scale innovative care delivery models and improve people's wellness and overall health care experience.