Kentucky Retirement Systems Lowers Stock Holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,315 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,742 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Welltower were worth $5,162,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WELL. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Welltower by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 289 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Old North State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Welltower by 0.6% in the third quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,864 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,648,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its position in Welltower by 0.9% during the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 9,617 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Welltower by 2.6% during the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,668 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Welltower by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 775 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Welltower Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of WELL opened at $136.02 on Friday. Welltower Inc. has a one year low of $85.40 and a one year high of $140.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $130.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 4.10 and a current ratio of 4.10. The company has a market capitalization of $84.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.20.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.31). The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 3.20%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 176.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WELL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Welltower from $121.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective (up from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.68.

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.