Aviva PLC Cuts Stock Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Aviva PLC trimmed its position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 39.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 372,473 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 241,437 shares during the period. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Welltower were worth $46,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Welltower by 30.4% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 87,588 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,232,000 after acquiring an additional 20,445 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Welltower by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,550 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $838,000 after purchasing an additional 1,442 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Welltower by 677.1% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 103,535 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,256,000 after buying an additional 90,211 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 36,423 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,663,000 after buying an additional 3,872 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Welltower by 13.9% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 192,874 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $24,694,000 after buying an additional 23,585 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Welltower Stock Performance

Welltower stock opened at $143.26 on Friday. Welltower Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.87 and a fifty-two week high of $158.55. The company has a market capitalization of $92.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.83, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $147.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 4.22 and a current ratio of 4.22.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.15% and a net margin of 11.91%. On average, analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 171.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on WELL shares. Raymond James raised their target price on Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Welltower from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $140.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.46.

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.