Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Shares Sold by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lessened its holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 42.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,223,932 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 914,286 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.20% of Welltower worth $154,252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WELL. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Welltower during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Welltower by 165.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower during the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Welltower Stock Performance

NYSE:WELL traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $147.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 641,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,868,342. 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 firm's 50 day moving average is $148.17 and its 200-day moving average is $137.84. Welltower Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.41 and a fifty-two week high of $158.55. The firm has a market cap of $95.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.67 dividend. 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 payout ratio is 171.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on WELL shares. Wedbush reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Welltower from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America increased their price target on Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $147.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Welltower from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $156.46.

Welltower 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.