Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Has $4.01 Million Stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 31,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 800 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Welltower were worth $4,008,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Welltower in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Welltower by 37.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 289 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Welltower by 165.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Welltower during the third quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Welltower during the third quarter worth about $59,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WELL opened at $146.49 on Thursday. Welltower Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.40 and a 12 month high of $148.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $130.73 and a 200-day moving average of $128.27. The company has a current ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $91.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.23.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.20% and a net margin of 12.22%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. Welltower’s payout ratio is presently 176.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WELL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on Welltower from $190.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $147.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. 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 report on Monday, December 16th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Welltower from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Welltower currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.96.

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.