Oak Thistle LLC Makes New Investment in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,507 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $820,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WELL. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Welltower by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,864 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,648,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its stake in Welltower by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 9,617 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,231,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC boosted its holdings in Welltower by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 3,427 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Welltower by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,668 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of WELL traded up $2.14 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $128.73. The stock had a trading volume of 1,732,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,211,956. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.16 billion, a PE ratio of 84.69, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.22. Welltower Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.40 and a 12 month high of $140.75. 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 company's 50-day moving average is $130.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.08.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. Welltower's revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. Welltower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 176.32%.

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.