Kentucky Retirement Systems Trims Stock Holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 39,767 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 548 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Welltower were worth $5,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WELL. Wolverine Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Welltower by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 8,788 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 1,612 shares during the last quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV increased its stake in Welltower by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 19,079 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,405,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Welltower by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 335,825 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,324,000 after buying an additional 18,807 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in Welltower by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 23,389 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,948,000 after buying an additional 804 shares during the period. Finally, Good Life Advisors LLC grew its stake in Welltower by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 5,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $715,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE:WELL opened at $148.69 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $133.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 4.22 and a current ratio of 4.22. Welltower Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.87 and a fifty-two week high of $152.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 95.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.23.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 3.15%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 171.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WELL shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $147.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Scotiabank raised their price target on Welltower from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Welltower has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.19.

Welltower Company 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.