Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Holdings Lowered by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 33,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,751 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Welltower were worth $4,161,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Welltower Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Welltower stock opened at $148.81 on Thursday. Welltower Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.87 and a 12-month high of $158.55. 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. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $142.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.35.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors 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 1.80%. Welltower’s payout ratio is 171.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on WELL. Royal Bank of Canada raised Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $146.00 to $168.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Welltower from $140.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, 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. Three investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Welltower has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.