Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Shares Up 2.3% - Here's Why

Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) shot up 2.3% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $153.33 and last traded at $153.44. 1,540,386 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 45% from the average session volume of 2,801,345 shares. The stock had previously closed at $149.92.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WELL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank upped their target price on Welltower from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $132.00 to $147.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of 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 target price on shares of Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.46.

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Welltower Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 4.22 and a current ratio of 4.22. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.79. The firm has a market cap of $98.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 98.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.20.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share (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%. Equities research analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. Welltower's payout ratio is currently 171.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Welltower

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,943,892,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Welltower by 53.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,430,496 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,062,495,000 after acquiring an additional 2,939,229 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Welltower by 2.7% in 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 last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in Welltower by 23,204.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,891,847 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in 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 valued at $2,392,349,000 after purchasing an additional 1,797,330 shares during the period. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.