Xponance Inc. Increases Stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,087 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 6,946 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Welltower were worth $11,354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted 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 worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WELL shares. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Welltower from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Welltower from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.46.

Welltower Price Performance

Welltower stock opened at $149.92 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $96.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.10, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $142.19 and its 200 day moving average is $134.25. The company has a quick ratio of 4.22, a current ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Welltower Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.87 and a 52-week high of $158.55.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 3.15%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is currently 171.79%.

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.