Diversified Trust Co Reduces Stock Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Diversified Trust Co cut its stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 43.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,410 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 8,064 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co's holdings in Welltower were worth $1,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WELL. First Foundation Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Welltower by 37.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 289 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 165.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Welltower in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WELL. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $135.00 price objective (up from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Welltower from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. StockNews.com raised Welltower from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $127.63.

Welltower Price Performance

WELL stock traded up $2.36 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $126.60. 2,353,144 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,249,269. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $131.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 4.10 and a current ratio of 4.10. The stock has a market cap of $78.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.29, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.22. Welltower Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.40 and a fifty-two week high of $140.75.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.31). Welltower had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 3.20%. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Welltower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 176.32%.

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.