Easterly Investment Partners LLC Invests $1.67 Million in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Easterly Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 13,012 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,666,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Foundation Advisors purchased a new stake in Welltower in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Welltower during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Welltower during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Centerpoint Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Welltower during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of Welltower by 37.0% during 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Welltower Price Performance

Welltower stock traded up $1.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $138.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,485,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,305,937. The company has a quick ratio of 4.10, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 90.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.20. Welltower Inc. has a twelve month low of $84.38 and a twelve month high of $140.19. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $128.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.94.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.31). The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.20% and a net margin of 12.22%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is 176.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WELL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $135.00 price target (up previously from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Welltower from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wedbush upped their price objective on Welltower from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Welltower from $115.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Welltower from $121.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Welltower presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $115.38.

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.