Strategy Asset Managers LLC Invests $550,000 in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Key Points

• Strategy Asset Managers LLC purchased 3,589 shares of Welltower Inc. valued at approximately $550,000, marking a new investment in the real estate investment trust (REIT).
• Recent institutional activity includes multiple purchases by other hedge funds, contributing to a 94.80% institutional ownership of Welltower.
• Welltower announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.74, up from $0.67, representing an annualized yield of 1.8%.

Strategy Asset Managers LLC acquired a new position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,589 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $550,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WELL. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Welltower during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Welltower during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Welltower during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Franchise Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Welltower during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Welltower during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Welltower Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:WELL traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $169.04. The company had a trading volume of 354,542 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,962,561. The company has a market capitalization of $113.06 billion, a PE ratio of 95.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $156.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.67. Welltower Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.18 and a 52 week high of $171.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 4.19 and a quick ratio of 4.19.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.49 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 12.18% and a return on equity of 3.38%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This is an increase from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. Welltower's payout ratio is 151.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WELL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wedbush restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $169.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Andrew Gundlach acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $151.46 per share, with a total value of $3,029,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,029,200. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

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.