Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Stock Position Lessened by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,908,639 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 266,153 shares during the quarter. Welltower comprises approximately 0.8% of Principal Financial Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.91% of Welltower worth $1,500,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Welltower during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Welltower during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on WELL shares. StockNews.com lowered Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Scotiabank upped their target price on Welltower from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James upped their target price on Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $140.19.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of WELL stock traded up $0.76 on Thursday, hitting $150.47. 3,321,640 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,619,775. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 4.22. The company has a market capitalization of $96.50 billion, a PE ratio of 96.46, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.23. Welltower Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.87 and a 1-year high of $152.81. The company's fifty day moving average is $133.00 and its 200 day moving average is $129.74.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.15% and a net margin of 11.91%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Welltower's payout ratio is currently 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.