LMR Partners LLP Makes New $468,000 Investment in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 3,712 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $468,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 24,256 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,057,000 after acquiring an additional 4,440 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at about $16,258,000. GRS Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 76.5% in the 4th quarter. GRS Advisors LLC now owns 34,474 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,345,000 after acquiring an additional 14,947 shares during the last quarter. Geller Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Geller Advisors LLC now owns 1,911 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 85.5% in the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 65,824 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,296,000 after acquiring an additional 30,339 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE WELL opened at $143.10 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $93.58 billion, a PE ratio of 91.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 4.22, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Welltower Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.30 and a 52-week high of $158.55. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $147.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.02.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.05. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.15% and a net margin of 11.91%. The company had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. Welltower’s payout ratio is 154.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WELL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Welltower from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $146.00 to $168.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Welltower from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.83.

Welltower 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.