Verde Capital Management Acquires 684 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Verde Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,883 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the quarter. Verde Capital Management’s holdings in Welltower were worth $2,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Donoghue Forlines LLC acquired a new position in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,094,000. Dupont Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Welltower during the fourth quarter worth $7,162,000. Investment Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Welltower by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,889 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $616,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Welltower by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,195 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Welltower by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,634 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $710,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WELL opened at $132.31 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $130.15 and its 200 day moving average is $124.95. Welltower Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $85.40 and a fifty-two week high of $140.75. The company has a market capitalization of $82.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 87.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 4.10 and a current ratio of 4.10.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.31). Welltower had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 3.20%. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 176.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on WELL. StockNews.com upgraded Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Welltower from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective (up previously from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.63.

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.