Geode Capital Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Geode Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,914,347 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 176,578 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.07% of Welltower worth $1,647,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WELL. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Welltower by 638.0% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 5,982,711 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Welltower by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,428,564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,847,289,000 after buying an additional 3,977,845 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower during the 2nd quarter valued at $254,977,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Welltower by 10.6% during 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 buying an additional 1,797,330 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Welltower by 24.6% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,112,452 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $220,223,000 after buying an additional 417,046 shares during the period. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WELL shares. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective (up from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Mizuho upped 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. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.77.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of WELL stock opened at $129.27 on Wednesday. Welltower Inc. has a 12 month low of $85.40 and a 12 month 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 firm has a market capitalization of $80.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $132.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.80.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Welltower had a return on equity of 3.20% and a net margin of 12.22%. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue 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 fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

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

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.