MML Investors Services LLC Has $4.83 Million Stock Holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,323 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 2,856 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Welltower were worth $4,830,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Welltower during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Welltower during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Welltower during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Welltower by 165.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Welltower during the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of Welltower stock traded up $2.33 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $151.38. 4,444,352 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,876,155. The company has a market cap of $98.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 97.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.93. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.59. Welltower Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $93.72 and a fifty-two week high of $158.55.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.05. Welltower had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 3.15%. The business had revenue of $2.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. Welltower's revenue was up 30.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is 171.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WELL has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Welltower from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Welltower from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $146.00 to $168.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $147.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.