Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Raises Stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 528.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 591 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 497 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Welltower were worth $74,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Welltower during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Welltower during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Welltower by 165.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WELL. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $146.00 to $168.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Welltower from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Welltower presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.46.

Welltower Stock Up 2.3 %

WELL stock opened at $153.39 on Monday. 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 50-day simple moving average of $145.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 98.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.20.

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 return on equity of 3.15% and a net margin of 11.91%. Equities analysts forecast 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 paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.79%.

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.