Barclays PLC Cuts Holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Barclays PLC decreased its position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 50.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 841,264 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 843,182 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.14% of Welltower worth $106,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in Welltower by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 470,419 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $60,228,000 after acquiring an additional 16,946 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of Welltower by 120.3% in the fourth quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 14,417 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,817,000 after buying an additional 7,872 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Welltower by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 544,838 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $68,666,000 after buying an additional 128,090 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Welltower by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 13,456 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,696,000 after acquiring an additional 2,250 shares during the period. Finally, Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC raised its position in Welltower by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 1,936,954 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $244,114,000 after purchasing an additional 285,015 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of WELL stock traded down $1.45 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $145.82. 128,311 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,059,175. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $148.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.64. The company has a market cap of $95.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.93. Welltower Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.76 and a 12-month high of $158.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 4.22.

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

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.84%. Welltower's payout ratio is 171.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WELL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Welltower from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $146.00 to $168.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Bank of America raised their price target 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, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Welltower from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.