IFP Advisors Inc Raises Holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 62.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,427 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Welltower were worth $180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its position in shares of Welltower by 63.6% during the fourth quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 128,339 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $16,175,000 after purchasing an additional 49,900 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Welltower by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC grew its position in Welltower by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp increased its stake in Welltower by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 6,276 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $791,000 after acquiring an additional 752 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC raised its position in Welltower by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC now owns 10,838 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE WELL opened at $156.91 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.22, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $131.87. The firm has a market cap of $100.63 billion, a PE ratio of 100.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.23. Welltower Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.87 and a twelve month high of $157.16.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted 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 net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 3.15%. Analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 171.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. 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 report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.96.

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.