Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc. trimmed its holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,926 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 241 shares during the period. Welltower makes up 1.6% of Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Welltower were worth $1,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Welltower by 165.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Welltower in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wedbush raised shares of Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $145.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, February 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Welltower from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $146.00 to $168.00 in a report on Friday, February 28th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Welltower presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.42.

Welltower Price Performance

WELL stock opened at $147.22 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $138.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $132.75. Welltower Inc. has a 12-month low of $87.87 and a 12-month high of $158.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.37, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 4.22, a quick ratio of 4.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 25th. Welltower’s payout ratio is 171.79%.

About Welltower

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.