Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Grows Stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 121,024 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,782 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Welltower were worth $15,118,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WELL. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 162.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 5,703 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $730,000 after acquiring an additional 3,533 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Welltower by 126.3% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 602 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its position in shares of Welltower by 166.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 5,524 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Welltower by 91.7% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 508 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Stock Performance

NYSE WELL opened at $145.83 on Friday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $140.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $133.44. The company has a market capitalization of $93.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.48, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.20. Welltower Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.87 and a 1-year high of $158.55.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) 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 return on equity of 3.15% and a net margin of 11.91%. Sell-side analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were issued 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 (DPR) is 171.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WELL shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Welltower from $140.00 to $158.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America raised their price target on Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Welltower from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $146.00 to $168.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.