M.D. Sass LLC Invests $48.77 Million in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

M.D. Sass LLC acquired a new stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 386,946 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $48,767,000. Welltower comprises about 3.7% of M.D. Sass LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. M.D. Sass LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Welltower at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WELL. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of Welltower by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,053 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,152 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC raised its position in Welltower by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 2,213 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Welltower by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Graypoint LLC grew its position in Welltower by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 3,427 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

WELL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America raised their price target on Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Welltower from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Welltower presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $156.46.

Welltower Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of Welltower stock traded up $3.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $153.39. 2,852,597 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,802,695. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.57. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.20. Welltower Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.87 and a twelve month high of $158.55.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last announced its 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%. Research analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current 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. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Welltower's payout ratio is 171.79%.

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.