Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Has $2.37 Million Stock Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,772 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 3,084 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Welltower were worth $2,374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Welltower by 3.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 89,187,884 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,333,716,000 after acquiring an additional 3,257,213 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Welltower by 26.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 29,236,326 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,731,842,000 after purchasing an additional 6,104,064 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 62,942 shares in the last quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $507,771,000 after purchasing an additional 849,898 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 12.4% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,433,816 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $414,229,000 after purchasing an additional 489,533 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Welltower Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WELL opened at $127.66 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $76.33 billion, a PE ratio of 157.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.21. Welltower Inc. has a 1 year low of $78.38 and a 1 year high of $131.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $116.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.22.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.08. Welltower had a return on equity of 2.21% and a net margin of 8.36%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a $0.67 dividend. This is a positive change from Welltower’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 330.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on WELL shares. Wolfe Research upgraded Welltower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Welltower from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Welltower from $115.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Welltower from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.38.

Welltower Company Profile

Welltower Inc (NYSE:WELL), a 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 and infrastructure needed to scale innovative care delivery models and improve people's wellness and overall health care experience.