Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 264,384 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,174,792 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 264,384 shares during the quarter. Welltower accounts for approximately 0.9% of Principal Financial Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 2.04% of Welltower worth $1,558,730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WELL. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in Welltower in the 1st quarter worth about $383,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Welltower by 5.9% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 54,666 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,108,000 after purchasing an additional 3,035 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Welltower by 338.7% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 329 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 20,869 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,950,000 after buying an additional 888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Welltower by 34.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,365 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $688,000 after buying an additional 1,901 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Welltower Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of WELL traded up $3.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $136.80. The company had a trading volume of 1,083,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,677,527. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $128.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.45. Welltower Inc. has a 52 week low of $84.38 and a 52 week high of $139.80. The company has a market capitalization of $85.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.20.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.31). The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 3.20%. The business's revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. Welltower's payout ratio is presently 176.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WELL. StockNews.com upgraded Welltower from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Welltower from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $135.00 price objective (up previously from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Welltower from $121.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Welltower from $103.00 to $107.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.