Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Boosts Holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 5.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 188,940 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 9,610 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Welltower were worth $24,190,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Foundation Advisors purchased a new position in Welltower during the second quarter valued at $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Welltower during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Welltower during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Welltower during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Centerpoint Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Welltower in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of Welltower stock traded up $1.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $132.24. 2,185,345 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,697,934. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $124.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 163.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.21. Welltower Inc. has a one year low of $80.80 and a one year high of $132.27. The company has a quick ratio of 4.07, a current ratio of 4.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.08. Welltower had a return on equity of 2.21% and a net margin of 8.36%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This is a boost from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Welltower's payout ratio is presently 330.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WELL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Welltower from $103.00 to $107.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Welltower from $121.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Welltower from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on Welltower from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $115.38.

About Welltower

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.