Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. Invests $99,000 in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 785 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $99,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Welltower during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Welltower during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Welltower during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Welltower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new stake in Welltower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,000. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Welltower Stock Up 1.2%

WELL stock opened at $150.54 on Tuesday. Welltower Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.77 and a twelve month high of $158.55. 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 firm has a market cap of $98.45 billion, a PE ratio of 96.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50 day moving average of $147.51 and a 200 day moving average of $140.38.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.05. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.15% and a net margin of 11.91%. The company had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is 154.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WELL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wedbush reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $146.00 to $168.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America increased their target price on Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com lowered Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.