L & S Advisors Inc Buys Shares of 23,026 Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Key Points

• L & S Advisors Inc acquired 23,026 shares of Welltower Inc., valued at around $3.5 million, during the first quarter as per their latest SEC filing.
• Several large investors have significantly increased their stakes in Welltower, with Northern Trust Corp raising its stake by 53.5% in the fourth quarter, now holding over $1 billion worth of shares.
• Welltower recently declared a quarterly dividend increase from $0.67 to $0.74, reflecting a strong annualized yield of 1.8% despite a high payout ratio of 151.41%.

L & S Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 23,026 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $3,528,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WELL. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Welltower during the first quarter worth $28,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Welltower during the first quarter worth $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Welltower during the first quarter worth $31,000. Franchise Capital Ltd bought a new position in Welltower during the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Welltower during the first quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WELL traded up $0.32 on Tuesday, hitting $169.10. The stock had a trading volume of 1,302,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,975,194. Welltower Inc. has a twelve month low of $111.28 and a twelve month high of $170.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 4.19 and a current ratio of 4.19. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $155.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.62. The company has a market capitalization of $113.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.06. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.38% and a net margin of 12.18%. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a $0.74 dividend. This is a positive change from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. Welltower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 151.41%.

Insider Activity

In other Welltower news, Director Andrew Gundlach purchased 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $151.46 per share, with a total value of $3,029,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,029,200. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WELL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Wedbush reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Welltower presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $169.82.

About Welltower

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.