M&T Bank Corp Acquires 2,523 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 69,163 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,523 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Welltower were worth $6,236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Welltower by 479.6% in the 3rd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 313 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Welltower during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 84.0% during the fourth quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 425 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Welltower Price Performance

WELL stock opened at $96.78 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 3.83 and a current ratio of 3.83. Welltower Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.47 and a 52-week high of $98.19. The company has a market capitalization of $57.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 119.48, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $92.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.90.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.72). Welltower had a net margin of 6.37% and a return on equity of 1.77%. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a $0.61 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 301.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Welltower from $97.00 to $96.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 4th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Welltower in a report on Monday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $104.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Welltower in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.57.

Welltower 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.