Erste Asset Management GmbH Acquires 22,128 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 81.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 49,328 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,128 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Welltower were worth $6,166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WELL. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in Welltower by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,053 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Welltower by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,152 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC raised its position in shares of Welltower by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 3,427 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Investment Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Welltower by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Investment Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,889 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Welltower Stock Down 1.1 %

WELL stock opened at $145.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $93.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.20. 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’s 50-day moving average is $140.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.44. Welltower Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.87 and a fifty-two week high of $158.55.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. 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 weighed in on WELL shares. Wedbush upgraded shares of Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $146.00 to $168.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Bank of America boosted 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.19.

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.