39,500 Shares in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Purchased by Primecap Management Co. CA

Key Points

• Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new stake in Welltower Inc. by purchasing 39,500 shares valued at approximately $6,052,000 in the 1st quarter.
• Welltower's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $1.28, beating estimates, with a revenue of $2.55 billion, up 39.6% year-over-year.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.67 to $0.74, representing a 1.7% yield and a payout ratio of 151.41%.

Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 39,500 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $6,052,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Welltower during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Welltower in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Welltower during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Franchise Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Welltower in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WELL. Evercore ISI upped their target price 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 reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $169.82.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WELL opened at $169.90 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $156.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.63 billion, a PE ratio of 95.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.93. Welltower Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.37 and a fifty-two week high of $171.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 4.19 and a current ratio of 4.19.

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

Welltower Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. This is a boost from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. Welltower's payout ratio is currently 151.41%.

Insider Transactions at Welltower

In other news, Director Andrew Gundlach acquired 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $151.46 per share, with a total value of $3,029,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,029,200. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Welltower Company 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.

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