Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Boosts Stock Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,206 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Welltower were worth $1,160,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WELL. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Welltower by 37.0% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 289 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised 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 buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WELL shares. StockNews.com downgraded Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wedbush upgraded Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $167.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Welltower from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Welltower has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.19.

Welltower Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE WELL opened at $150.50 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 4.22 and a quick ratio of 4.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.52 billion, a PE ratio of 96.47, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.23. Welltower Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.87 and a 1 year high of $152.81. The business’s 50-day moving average is $135.22 and its 200 day moving average is $130.99.

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

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. Welltower’s payout ratio is 171.79%.

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.