Czech National Bank Boosts Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 128,261 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,376 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Welltower were worth $16,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Welltower by 10.6% during the third 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 acquiring an additional 1,797,330 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Welltower by 38.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,428,564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,847,289,000 after acquiring an additional 3,977,845 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Welltower by 0.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,814,741 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $814,678,000 after purchasing an additional 62,942 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Welltower by 638.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,920,426 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $886,022,000 after purchasing an additional 5,982,711 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Welltower by 0.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,066,213 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $776,657,000 after purchasing an additional 46,332 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Price Performance

NYSE:WELL opened at $125.87 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 company has a market capitalization of $78.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.22. Welltower Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.40 and a 12 month high of $140.75. The business’s 50-day moving average is $131.08 and its 200 day moving average is $123.90.

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

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 176.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on WELL. Jefferies Financial Group raised Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $132.00 to $147.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $135.00 price target (up previously from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com raised Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Welltower from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Welltower from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Welltower currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.63.

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.