AMF Tjanstepension AB Reduces Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

AMF Tjanstepension AB cut its position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 61.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,458 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 104,124 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB’s holdings in Welltower were worth $6,132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Welltower during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Welltower by 84.0% during the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 425 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kenneth J. Bacon sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.91, for a total transaction of $187,038.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,579 shares in the company, valued at $1,514,903.89. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WELL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Welltower in a report on Monday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Welltower from $96.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Welltower from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.07.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WELL opened at $104.42 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 128.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 3.83, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Welltower Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.90 and a 52 week high of $105.69.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.72). The business had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 6.37% and a return on equity of 1.77%. Welltower’s quarterly revenue was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. Welltower’s payout ratio is currently 301.23%.

About Welltower

Welltower Inc (NYSE:WELL), a 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 and infrastructure needed to scale innovative care delivery models and improve people's wellness and overall health care experience.