Janus Henderson Group PLC Sells 534,528 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Janus Henderson Group PLC reduced its position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 48.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 578,584 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 534,528 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Welltower were worth $72,843,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WELL. Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Welltower by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 128,261 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $16,165,000 after acquiring an additional 10,376 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in shares of Welltower by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,221 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $901,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the period. Eastern Bank grew its stake in shares of Welltower by 1,087.6% in the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,152 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 1,055 shares during the period. Tuttle Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Welltower by 34.8% in the fourth quarter. Tuttle Capital Management LLC now owns 3,193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 824 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter worth approximately $820,000. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WELL opened at $145.37 on Wednesday. Welltower Inc. has a 1-year low of $98.66 and a 1-year high of $158.55. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $147.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $140.00. 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 company has a market capitalization of $95.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.94.

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

Welltower Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 154.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on WELL shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Welltower from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Welltower in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Welltower in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Welltower currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.