Graham Capital Management L.P. Invests $880,000 in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 6,982 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $880,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WELL. Czech National Bank raised its stake in Welltower by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 128,261 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $16,165,000 after purchasing an additional 10,376 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in Welltower by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,221 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $901,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. Eastern Bank raised its stake in Welltower by 1,087.6% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,152 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares during the period. Tuttle Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Welltower by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. Tuttle Capital Management LLC now owns 3,193 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 824 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in Welltower during the fourth quarter worth about $820,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Welltower Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of WELL stock opened at $145.37 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 4.22 and a current ratio of 4.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $147.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.00. Welltower Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $98.66 and a fifty-two week high of $158.55.

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

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 154.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on WELL shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Welltower from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $161.83.

Welltower 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.