True North Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

True North Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 26.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,741 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 630 shares during the quarter. True North Advisors LLC’s holdings in Welltower were worth $219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Welltower during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Welltower by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 289 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Welltower by 165.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Welltower in the third quarter worth approximately $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on WELL. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $135.00 target price (up from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James raised their target price on Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Welltower from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.63.

Welltower Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE WELL opened at $132.31 on Friday. Welltower Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.40 and a 12 month high of $140.75. The company has a current ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $82.39 billion, a PE ratio of 87.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $130.15 and its 200 day moving average is $124.95.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.31). The company had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.20% and a net margin of 12.22%. Welltower’s revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. Research analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 176.32%.

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.