Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Raises Stock Holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 19.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,566 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 3,335 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Welltower were worth $2,633,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its stake in Welltower by 3.8% in the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 264,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,847,000 after buying an additional 9,797 shares during the last quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower during the third quarter worth approximately $218,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Welltower by 21,236.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 173,888 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $22,263,000 after purchasing an additional 173,073 shares during the last quarter. Axecap Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower during the third quarter worth approximately $976,000. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its stake in shares of Welltower by 28.0% during the third quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 4,399 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 962 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Stock Up 0.8 %

Welltower stock opened at $138.48 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 4.07 and a current ratio of 4.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 170.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.21. Welltower Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $82.54 and a fifty-two week high of $139.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $126.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.90.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.31). The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 8.36% and a return on equity of 2.21%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. Analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly 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 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. Welltower’s payout ratio is currently 330.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WELL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Welltower from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded Welltower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Welltower from $115.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective (up previously from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Welltower has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.38.

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.