Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC Acquires 96,853 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,439,634 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 96,853 shares during the period. Welltower accounts for about 7.7% of Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC owned 0.23% of Welltower worth $181,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WELL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Welltower by 2.7% during the fourth 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. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Welltower by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,096,408 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,674,826,000 after buying an additional 318,496 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Welltower during the 4th quarter worth $3,943,892,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,782,795 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,989,106,000 after buying an additional 1,354,231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Welltower by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,558,841 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,707,570,000 after acquiring an additional 644,494 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Welltower Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of WELL stock traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $147.19. 612,757 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,862,683. The company has a quick ratio of 4.22, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Welltower Inc. has a 12 month low of $92.73 and a 12 month high of $158.55. The stock has a market cap of $95.90 billion, a PE ratio of 94.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.93. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $148.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.07.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is presently 171.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Welltower from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Welltower from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. 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, Wedbush reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.