First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Buys 3,285 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,919 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 3,285 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Welltower were worth $2,678,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Foundation Advisors bought a new position in Welltower during the second quarter worth about $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Welltower in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Welltower in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Welltower by 338.7% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 329 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centerpoint Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Welltower during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WELL opened at $138.48 on Thursday. Welltower Inc. has a one year low of $82.54 and a one year high of $139.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 4.07 and a quick ratio of 4.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 170.96, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $126.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.90.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.31). Welltower had a net margin of 8.36% and a return on equity of 2.21%. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. Welltower’s payout ratio is 330.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WELL shares. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Welltower from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded Welltower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Welltower from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $115.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.38.

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.