Merit Financial Group LLC Has $3.10 Million Stock Holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 22.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,557 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 4,491 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Welltower were worth $3,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WELL. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Welltower during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 37.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 289 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Welltower by 165.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Welltower in the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Welltower during the third quarter worth approximately $59,000. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WELL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Welltower from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Welltower from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.63.

Welltower Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:WELL opened at $129.47 on Monday. Welltower Inc. has a one year low of $85.40 and a one year high of $140.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 4.10 and a quick ratio of 4.10. The company has a market cap of $80.62 billion, a PE ratio of 85.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.22. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $130.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.41.

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

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Welltower’s payout ratio is presently 176.32%.

Welltower Company 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.