Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Price Target Raised to $242.00

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) had its price objective lifted by Bank of America from $221.00 to $242.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Welltower from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wedbush raised shares of Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Welltower from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.19.

Welltower Stock Performance

NYSE WELL opened at $150.54 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 4.10, a quick ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $132.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.33. Welltower has a 1 year low of $87.87 and a 1 year high of $152.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 99.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.23.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 3.20%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Welltower will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. Welltower’s payout ratio is 176.32%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Welltower by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 98,295,258 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,388,151,000 after buying an additional 2,612,044 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its position in Welltower by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,096,408 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,674,826,000 after purchasing an additional 318,496 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at $3,943,892,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Welltower by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 18,706,788 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,357,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652,611 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Welltower by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,685,844 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,392,349,000 after purchasing an additional 1,797,330 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

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.