O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Acquires 5,124 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,613 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,124 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Welltower were worth $7,639,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Welltower by 73.0% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,446 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 2,298 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Welltower by 8.8% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 6,702 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $858,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Welltower by 6.8% during the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 70,276 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,988,000 after purchasing an additional 4,470 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,462,000. Finally, Atom Investors LP boosted its position in shares of Welltower by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 2,654 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Welltower Stock Up 0.6 %

Welltower stock opened at $154.10 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $146.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.96. 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 market cap of $98.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.78, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

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

Welltower Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. Welltower’s payout ratio is 171.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WELL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $140.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Raymond James raised their target price on Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Welltower from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.46.

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.