KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New Investment in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 210,746 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $26,560,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WELL. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in Welltower by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,053 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,152 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC increased its stake in shares of Welltower by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 3,427 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $432,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Welltower by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,889 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of WELL opened at $146.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 4.22. Welltower Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.87 and a 1-year high of $158.55. The stock has a market cap of $94.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.71.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.15% and a net margin of 11.91%. Equities analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WELL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James boosted their target price on Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $146.00 to $168.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.