Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Buys 2,305 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 146,650 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,305 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Welltower were worth $18,482,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WELL. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. grew its position in Welltower by 120.3% during the fourth quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 14,417 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,817,000 after acquiring an additional 7,872 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Welltower by 29.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,684,446 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $215,659,000 after purchasing an additional 380,888 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Welltower by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 544,838 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $68,666,000 after purchasing an additional 128,090 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in Welltower by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 13,456 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 2,250 shares during the period. Finally, Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC raised its position in Welltower by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 1,936,954 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $244,114,000 after purchasing an additional 285,015 shares during the period. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of WELL stock opened at $149.38 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.22, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $97.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.76, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s fifty day moving average is $147.74 and its 200 day moving average is $139.86. Welltower Inc. has a twelve month low of $98.36 and a twelve month high of $158.55.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.40 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 3.15%. The company’s revenue was up 30.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. Research analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Welltower’s payout ratio is 154.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $146.00 to $168.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Mizuho raised their price target on Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wedbush reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Welltower in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Welltower from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Welltower currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.83.

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.