Easterly Investment Partners LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Easterly Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 781.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 114,716 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 101,704 shares during the period. Welltower comprises 1.1% of Easterly Investment Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Easterly Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Welltower were worth $14,458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. 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 purchasing an additional 2,612,044 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,943,892,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 10.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,797,330 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Welltower by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,428,564 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,847,289,000 after acquiring an additional 3,977,845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Welltower by 638.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,920,426 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $886,022,000 after acquiring an additional 5,982,711 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Welltower Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WELL traded up $3.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $153.39. The company had a trading volume of 2,852,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,802,695. The company has a market capitalization of $98.37 billion, a PE ratio of 98.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.20. Welltower Inc. has a one year low of $87.87 and a one year high of $158.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $145.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 4.22.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is presently 171.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WELL shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wedbush upgraded shares of Welltower from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $145.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $140.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Welltower from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $156.46.

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.