Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $1.56 Billion Stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,174,792 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 264,384 shares during the period. Welltower makes up about 0.9% of Principal Financial Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 2.04% of Welltower worth $1,558,730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Welltower by 37.0% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 289 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Welltower by 0.6% in the third quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,864 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,648,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 0.9% in the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 9,617 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Welltower by 2.6% during the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,668 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 775 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WELL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Welltower from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Welltower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Welltower from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Welltower from $115.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Welltower from $103.00 to $107.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Five investment 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.38.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WELL opened at $133.67 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.10, a current ratio of 4.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Welltower Inc. has a twelve month low of $84.38 and a twelve month high of $139.80. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $128.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.45. The company has a market cap of $83.23 billion, a PE ratio of 87.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.20.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.31). The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 3.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is presently 176.32%.

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.