Candriam S.C.A. Sells 112,609 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Candriam S.C.A. trimmed its position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 63.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,633 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 112,609 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Welltower were worth $8,020,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WELL. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Welltower during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Welltower in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Welltower in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Welltower by 165.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Welltower in the third quarter worth $50,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of Welltower stock opened at $147.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $94.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Welltower Inc. has a 12 month low of $87.87 and a 12 month high of $158.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $138.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $132.63.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 171.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James raised their price target on Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America raised their price target on Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $146.00 to $168.00 in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wedbush upgraded Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Welltower from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.42.

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.