NorthRock Partners LLC Increases Stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 147.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,307 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,158 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in Welltower were worth $669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WELL. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Welltower during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Stock Up 2.3%

Welltower stock opened at $146.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $95.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.06, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 4.22 and a current ratio of 4.22. Welltower Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.77 and a fifty-two week high of $158.55. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $140.13.

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

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. 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 1.83%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 154.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Welltower from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $146.00 to $168.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Welltower from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.