Nuveen LLC Invests $762.20 Million in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC purchased nearly 5 million shares of Welltower Inc., valued at approximately $762 million, increasing its ownership stake to 0.76% as of its latest SEC filing.
• Welltower's quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $1.28, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenue up 39.6% year-over-year, totaling $2.55 billion.
• The company plans to increase its quarterly dividend to $0.74 per share, up from $0.67, reflecting a 1.8% annual yield and a payout ratio of 151.41%.

Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,974,895 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $762,204,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.76% of Welltower at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Welltower by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,096,408 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,674,826,000 after buying an additional 318,496 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Welltower by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 18,706,788 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,357,617,000 after buying an additional 1,652,611 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Welltower by 53.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,430,496 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,062,495,000 after buying an additional 2,939,229 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Welltower by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,632,705 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $961,950,000 after buying an additional 712,279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Welltower by 14.4% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,956,594 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,065,820,000 after buying an additional 877,856 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Andrew Gundlach purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $151.46 per share, for a total transaction of $3,029,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,029,200. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Welltower Stock Down 2.1%

WELL traded down $3.45 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $164.58. 2,506,808 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,362,694. The company has a market cap of $110.07 billion, a PE ratio of 92.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.93. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $157.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.98. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $115.18 and a one year high of $171.09.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WELL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Welltower has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.