National Bank of Canada FI Has $12.84 Million Stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 28.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 142,242 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,506 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Welltower were worth $12,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WELL. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its position in Welltower by 479.6% in the third quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 313 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Welltower during the third quarter worth $38,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 194 shares during the period. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Price Performance

WELL opened at $98.42 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $92.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 3.83 and a current ratio of 3.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.85 billion, a PE ratio of 121.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.07. Welltower Inc. has a 52 week low of $72.47 and a 52 week high of $98.66.

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

Welltower Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $2.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 301.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Welltower Company 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.