Prudential PLC Lowers Stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Prudential PLC cut its stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 103,991 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 20,652 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Welltower were worth $13,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WELL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,943,892,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Welltower by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 98,295,258 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $12,388,151,000 after acquiring an additional 2,612,044 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in shares of Welltower by 23,204.3% during the 4th quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 1,900,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,183,000 after acquiring an additional 1,891,847 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Welltower by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,685,844 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,392,349,000 after purchasing an additional 1,797,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Welltower in the 4th quarter worth $90,565,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Welltower Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE WELL traded down $1.28 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $140.21. 981,227 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,860,317. The company's 50 day moving average price is $147.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.71. Welltower Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.87 and a 12 month high of $158.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.05, 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.

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Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 3.15%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Welltower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WELL shares. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Welltower from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $158.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.46.

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.