Welltower Inc. $WELL Shares Sold by Adelante Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Adelante Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Welltower Inc. by 17.7%, retaining approximately 963,730 shares worth around $147.65 million, which makes it the largest position in their investment portfolio.
• Welltower recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.67 to $0.74 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 1.8%.
• Research firms have become increasingly optimistic about Welltower, with price targets being raised, including Wells Fargo's increase to $185.00 and Scotiabank's to $181.00, indicating a consensus average target price of $175.00.

Adelante Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 17.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 963,730 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 207,502 shares during the period. Welltower accounts for 10.4% of Adelante Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Adelante Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Welltower worth $147,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WELL. Geller Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Welltower by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Geller Advisors LLC now owns 1,911 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC raised its stake in Welltower by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 5,744 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $880,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Welltower by 23.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 365 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Welltower by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,783 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Welltower by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,644 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Welltower Trading Down 0.4%

WELL stock traded down $0.73 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $168.12. 2,031,974 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,888,683. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.44 billion, a PE ratio of 94.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 4.19 and a quick ratio of 4.19. The business's 50 day moving average price is $162.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.09. Welltower Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.34 and a 52-week high of $171.09.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last released 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. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.38% and a net margin of 12.18%.The business had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. The company's revenue was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Welltower has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.060-5.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is a boost from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Welltower's payout ratio is 167.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Welltower

In other Welltower news, Director Andrew Gundlach purchased 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $151.46 per share, with a total value of $3,029,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,029,200. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WELL shares. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $172.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Welltower from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $175.00.

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.