Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 186,983 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Prudential Financial Inc. cut its position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,777,413 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 186,983 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Welltower were worth $350,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WELL. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Welltower during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Welltower during 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 valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WELL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Welltower from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $140.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Welltower from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.46.

Welltower Price Performance

WELL stock opened at $146.84 on Monday. Welltower Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.87 and a 1 year high of $158.55. The company’s 50-day moving average is $143.50 and its 200-day moving average is $134.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 4.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.17 billion, a PE ratio of 94.13, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 earnings per share 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 research analysts expect 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 $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Welltower’s payout ratio is currently 171.79%.

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.