Ritholtz Wealth Management Buys New Shares in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,072 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $261,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WELL. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Welltower by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,685,844 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,392,349,000 after acquiring an additional 1,797,330 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Welltower by 38.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,428,564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,847,289,000 after purchasing an additional 3,977,845 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Welltower by 638.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,920,426 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $886,022,000 after purchasing an additional 5,982,711 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Welltower by 0.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,066,213 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $776,657,000 after purchasing an additional 46,332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Welltower by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,914,363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $373,126,000 after purchasing an additional 291,839 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE WELL opened at $131.17 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Welltower Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.40 and a 12-month high of $140.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $130.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.22.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 3.20%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 176.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WELL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target (up previously from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James increased their target price on Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $147.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Welltower from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Welltower currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.63.

Welltower Company 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.