Sigma Planning Corp Grows Stock Holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Sigma Planning Corp lifted its position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,276 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 752 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Welltower were worth $791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Welltower in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Welltower during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in Welltower by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 289 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Welltower by 165.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $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 Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on WELL shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Mizuho upped their target price on Welltower from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Wedbush upgraded Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $145.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com lowered Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.19.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WELL opened at $151.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $134.72 and a 200-day moving average of $130.85. The company has a market capitalization of $97.32 billion, a PE ratio of 97.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.23. Welltower Inc. has a one year low of $87.87 and a one year high of $152.81. 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 (NYSE:WELL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.73. Welltower had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 3.15%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is 171.79%.

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.