Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Shares Sold by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lessened its stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,295 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 528 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Welltower were worth $477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Welltower by 479.6% in the 3rd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 313 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Welltower by 117.8% in the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 342 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Welltower in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Welltower by 84.0% in the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 425 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of WELL stock traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $95.81. The company had a trading volume of 2,522,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,562,263. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 3.22 and a current ratio of 3.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $92.21 and a 200-day moving average of $89.69. The company has a market capitalization of $57.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 118.28, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.07. Welltower Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.47 and a 12-month high of $98.19.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.72). Welltower had a net margin of 6.37% and a return on equity of 1.77%. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 301.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Welltower in a research note on Monday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Welltower in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Welltower from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on Welltower from $97.00 to $96.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.57.

Welltower Profile

Welltower Inc (NYSE:WELL), a 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 and infrastructure needed to scale innovative care delivery models and improve people's wellness and overall health care experience.