Sentry Investment Management LLC Purchases New Shares in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,332 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $294,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Welltower in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Welltower in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in Welltower by 37.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 289 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of WELL opened at $151.75 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 $97.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 97.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.23. Welltower Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.87 and a 52-week high of $152.81. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $134.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $130.85.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.13 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%. Research analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 171.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Welltower from $142.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Welltower from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Welltower from $221.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $147.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.19.

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.