Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,012,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 87,106 shares during the quarter. Welltower accounts for approximately 0.7% of Principal Financial Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Welltower were worth $1,173,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WELL. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Welltower during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Welltower by 84.0% during the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 425 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Welltower during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Welltower in the third quarter worth $43,000. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WELL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Welltower from $97.00 to $96.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 4th. Mizuho upped their target price on Welltower from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Welltower in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Welltower in a research report on Monday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Welltower currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.07.

Welltower Stock Performance

NYSE:WELL traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $99.48. 2,090,774 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,523,887. Welltower Inc. has a twelve month low of $72.47 and a twelve month high of $99.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 3.83 and a quick ratio of 3.83. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $92.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 122.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.07.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.72). Welltower had a return on equity of 1.77% and a net margin of 6.37%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. Welltower’s payout ratio is currently 301.23%.

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.