Horizon Investments LLC Increases Stock Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,978 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in Welltower were worth $1,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Welltower by 7.4% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,094 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Welltower by 18.0% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 142,881 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $18,294,000 after buying an additional 21,757 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Welltower by 1.2% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 44,609 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,711,000 after buying an additional 548 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised its position in Welltower by 38.8% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 8,529 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,092,000 after acquiring an additional 2,385 shares during the period. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in shares of Welltower by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 8,450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,083,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WELL opened at $148.81 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 95.39, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.20. Welltower Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.87 and a 52 week 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 fifty day simple moving average of $142.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.35.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, analysts expect 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 was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WELL shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Welltower from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $140.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.46.

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.