First Horizon Advisors Inc. Lowers Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 35.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 616 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 335 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Welltower were worth $79,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Welltower by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 45,925 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,880,000 after acquiring an additional 3,460 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Welltower during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,497,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Welltower in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $133,000. West Family Investments Inc. purchased a new position in Welltower in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $215,000. Finally, Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower in the 3rd quarter worth $211,000. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of Welltower stock opened at $137.91 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.11. Welltower Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.40 and a 12-month high of $140.19. The firm has a market cap of $85.88 billion, a PE ratio of 90.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 4.10, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.31). The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 3.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 176.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Welltower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective (up from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Welltower from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Welltower from $121.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $115.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Welltower currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $116.68.

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.