Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Shares Up 4.9% After Dividend Announcement

Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) shot up 4.9% on Tuesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $137.00 and last traded at $136.93. 1,921,157 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average session volume of 2,667,747 shares. The stock had previously closed at $130.57.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 330.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Wolfe Research raised Welltower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Welltower from $115.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (up previously from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.38.

Welltower Stock Up 5.2 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $126.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.71. The company has a current ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 4.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.12 billion, a PE ratio of 169.56, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.21.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.31). Welltower had a return on equity of 2.21% and a net margin of 8.36%. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Welltower

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Foundation Advisors purchased a new position in Welltower during the second quarter worth $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Welltower during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Welltower during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its position in Welltower by 338.7% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 329 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. Finally, Centerpoint Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Welltower in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

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.