Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Stock Holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 84,054 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 5,509 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Welltower were worth $10,593,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Welltower during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Welltower by 165.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Welltower Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Welltower stock traded up $0.90 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $147.49. 345,175 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,858,859. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $148.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.17. Welltower Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.87 and a 12-month high of $158.55. The stock has a market cap of $95.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 4.22.

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Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 3.15%. As a group, analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. Welltower's payout ratio is presently 171.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WELL has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Welltower from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wedbush raised shares of Welltower from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Welltower from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $146.00 to $168.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.46.

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.