Focus Financial Network Inc. Invests $212,000 in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Focus Financial Network Inc. bought a new stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,657 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Welltower by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 89,187,884 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,333,716,000 after purchasing an additional 3,257,213 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Welltower by 26.4% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 29,236,326 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,731,842,000 after buying an additional 6,104,064 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Welltower by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,814,741 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $814,678,000 after buying an additional 62,942 shares during the last quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Welltower by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 5,329,248 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $507,771,000 after buying an additional 849,898 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Welltower by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,433,816 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $414,229,000 after acquiring an additional 489,533 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of WELL opened at $133.27 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 4.07 and a current ratio of 4.10. Welltower Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $84.38 and a fifty-two week high of $139.80. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.69. The company has a market capitalization of $82.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.20.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.31). The company had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.20% and a net margin of 12.22%. The firm’s revenue was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. Welltower’s payout ratio is 176.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WELL shares. StockNews.com raised Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Welltower from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company restated 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Welltower from $121.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.38.

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.