Swedbank AB Acquires 17,554 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 646,046 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,554 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned about 0.11% of Welltower worth $82,713,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Welltower by 2.3% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 165,077 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,135,000 after acquiring an additional 3,682 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Welltower in the third quarter worth $219,000. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. grew its holdings in shares of Welltower by 186.3% in the third quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 173,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $22,252,000 after acquiring an additional 113,100 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Welltower by 2,118.4% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 56,324 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,211,000 after acquiring an additional 53,785 shares during the period. Finally, Mechanics Bank Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of Welltower in the third quarter worth $211,000. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of Welltower stock opened at $129.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $123.31 and a 200 day moving average of $108.86. Welltower Inc. has a 12 month low of $80.80 and a 12 month high of $131.31. The firm has a market cap of $77.28 billion, a PE ratio of 159.57, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 4.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.08. Welltower had a return on equity of 2.21% and a net margin of 8.36%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This is an increase from Welltower’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is 330.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Welltower from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Welltower from $103.00 to $107.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Welltower from $115.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price objective on Welltower from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.38.

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.