Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Raises Welltower (NYSE:WELL) Price Target to $137.00

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) had its target price hoisted by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $115.00 to $137.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on WELL. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Welltower from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Welltower from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Welltower from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a sector outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Welltower from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Saturday, August 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Welltower presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $108.88.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WELL opened at $119.33 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 3.83 and a current ratio of 4.07. Welltower has a 52 week low of $78.38 and a 52 week high of $119.50. The firm has a market cap of $71.35 billion, a PE ratio of 147.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $109.22 and its 200-day moving average is $99.92.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.89 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 2.21% and a net margin of 8.36%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Welltower will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.67 dividend. This is a boost from Welltower’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 330.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Welltower

In other Welltower news, Director Kenneth J. Bacon sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.91, for a total value of $187,038.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,514,903.89. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Welltower

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in 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 buying an additional 3,257,213 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Welltower by 26.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 6,104,064 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Welltower during the fourth quarter worth about $2,453,039,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Welltower by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,012,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,173,337,000 after purchasing an additional 87,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Welltower by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,814,741 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $814,678,000 after buying an additional 62,942 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.