Welltower Inc. $WELL Stock: Walter Public Investments Inc. Boosts Position

Walter Public Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 32.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 34,222 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,327 shares during the period. Welltower accounts for approximately 1.9% of Walter Public Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings in Welltower were worth $7,879,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Command Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Welltower by 241.3% in the third quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 744 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $171,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in shares of Welltower in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,528,000. Silver Grove Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Welltower by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Silver Grove Financial Group Inc. now owns 766 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Welltower by 228.8% in the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 26,582 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,120,000 after purchasing an additional 18,498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor LLC boosted its stake in Welltower by 211.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor LLC now owns 316,619 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $72,898,000 after purchasing an additional 214,997 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of WELL opened at $247.12 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $234.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $220.56. The company has a current ratio of 3.16, a quick ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Welltower Inc. has a 12 month low of $181.47 and a 12 month high of $255.20. The company has a market cap of $181.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 106.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.79.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.03. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.61% and a net margin of 12.08%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 38.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 6.50 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 147.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on shares of Welltower from $238.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Welltower from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Welltower from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Welltower from $244.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Welltower from $266.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $263.10.

Trending Headlines about Welltower

These are some of the WELL headlines that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target to $289 from $269 and maintained a Buy rating, implying about 16.9% upside from the cited share price. UBS price target article
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan lifted its target to $273 from $260 and assigned an Overweight rating, indicating continued confidence in Welltower’s prospects. JPMorgan price target article
• Neutral Sentiment: A dividend analysis was published, but the provided headline does not give details or indicate a change to Welltower’s dividend outlook. Welltower dividend analysis

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Welltower news, Director Andrew Gundlach acquired 5,000 shares of Welltower stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $242.06 per share, for a total transaction of $1,210,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 30,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,261,800. This represents a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Purchased indirectly through two trusts. The transaction was executed in multiple trades at prices ranging from $241.59 to $242.59. The reported $242.06 price is the weighted-average purchase price. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Company Profile

Welltower Inc. is a real estate investment trust focused on properties and services that support health care and aging. Its portfolio includes senior housing communities, outpatient medical facilities and post-acute care properties. The company works with senior housing operators, health care providers and other partners to own, lease and manage properties. Its operations span the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Founded in 1970 as Health Care REIT, the company adopted the Welltower name in 2015.