Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Price Target Raised to $273.00

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) had its price target raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $260.00 to $273.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

WELL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Freedom Broker upgraded shares of Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $255.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Welltower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings cut Welltower from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Welltower from $215.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Welltower presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $263.10.

Welltower Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of WELL stock opened at $244.75 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $234.49 and a 200-day moving average of $220.87. The company has a market capitalization of $179.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 3.16, a current ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Welltower has a 12-month low of $181.47 and a 12-month high of $255.20.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.64 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 12.08% and a return on equity of 3.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 38.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Welltower will post 6.50 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 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 147.19%.

Insider Activity at Welltower

In other news, Director Andrew Gundlach bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $242.06 per share, for a total transaction of $1,210,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 30,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,261,800. This trade represents a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Purchased indirectly through two trusts. The transaction was executed in multiple trades at prices ranging from $241.59 to $242.59. The reported $242.06 price is the weighted-average purchase price. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Welltower

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RHL Group LLC increased its position in Welltower by 146.7% during the third quarter. RHL Group LLC now owns 111 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in Welltower in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Solstein Capital LLC bought a new stake in Welltower in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Welltower by 472.7% in the 1st quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC grew its position in shares of Welltower by 42.6% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 164 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Welltower Company Profile

Welltower Inc. is a real estate investment trust focused on properties and services that support health care and aging. Its portfolio includes senior housing communities, outpatient medical facilities and post-acute care properties. The company works with senior housing operators, health care providers and other partners to own, lease and manage properties. Its operations span the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Founded in 1970 as Health Care REIT, the company adopted the Welltower name in 2015.