Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Buys Shares of 1,608 Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,608 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WELL. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Franchise Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Welltower in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Welltower by 27.0% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 381 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Welltower in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of WELL opened at $150.19 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 4.22 and a current ratio of 4.22. Welltower Inc. has a one year low of $100.13 and a one year high of $158.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.28, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $147.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.98.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.05. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.15% and a net margin of 11.91%. The firm had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. Welltower’s payout ratio is currently 154.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WELL shares. Wedbush reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Welltower in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Welltower from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $146.00 to $168.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.25.

Welltower Company 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.