Sigma Planning Corp Grows Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Sigma Planning Corp boosted its holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 166.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,524 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,448 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Welltower were worth $707,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Welltower by 3.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 89,187,884 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,333,716,000 after acquiring an additional 3,257,213 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Welltower by 26.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 29,236,326 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,731,842,000 after purchasing an additional 6,104,064 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Welltower by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,814,741 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $814,678,000 after purchasing an additional 62,942 shares during the period. Centersquare Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 19.0% in the first quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 5,329,248 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $507,771,000 after buying an additional 849,898 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Welltower by 3.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,026,158 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $419,727,000 after buying an additional 139,430 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Stock Performance

WELL opened at $134.42 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.82, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.20. Welltower Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.40 and a fifty-two week high of $140.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 4.10 and a current ratio of 4.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $129.77 and a 200 day moving average of $114.97.

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

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 176.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on WELL shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Welltower from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Welltower from $121.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Welltower from $115.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective (up from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Welltower from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Welltower currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $116.68.

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.