Van ECK Associates Corp Boosts Stock Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 17.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 279,358 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,819 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Welltower were worth $36,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Foundation Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Welltower in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Welltower in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Welltower during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Welltower by 338.7% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 329 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centerpoint Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Welltower in the second quarter worth $31,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on WELL. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $135.00 target price (up from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Welltower from $115.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Welltower from $121.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Welltower from $103.00 to $107.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Welltower currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.38.

Welltower Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE WELL opened at $133.27 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.07, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Welltower Inc. has a 52 week low of $84.38 and a 52 week high of $139.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.68, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a fifty day moving average of $127.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.69.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.31). Welltower had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 3.20%. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 176.32%.

About Welltower

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.