Aew Capital Management Inc. Acquires New Stake in Welltower Inc. $WELL

Key Points

• Aew Capital Management opened a major Welltower position in the third quarter, buying 1.16 million shares worth about $268 million. WELL now represents 17.6% of the firm’s portfolio and is its largest holding.
• Welltower reported quarterly results above estimates: EPS was $1.67 versus $1.64 expected, and revenue of $3.72 billion rose 38.4% year over year. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $263.10.
• The REIT declared a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share, or $3.40 annualized, yielding about 1.4%. Director Andrew Gundlach also purchased 5,000 shares for approximately $1.21 million.

Aew Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,163,903 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $267,977,000. Welltower accounts for approximately 17.6% of Aew Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Aew Capital Management Inc. owned 0.16% of Welltower as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Capstone Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $331,000. Bingham Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Welltower by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bingham Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,586 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its position in Welltower by 17.8% during the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 44,461 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $10,237,000 after buying an additional 6,703 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in Welltower by 51.8% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 25,864 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,955,000 after purchasing an additional 8,824 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp bought a new position in shares of Welltower in the third quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Welltower from $259.00 to $246.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Welltower from $215.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Welltower from $244.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $260.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on shares of Welltower from $238.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $263.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Andrew Gundlach bought 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $242.06 per share, for a total transaction of $1,210,300.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 30,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,261,800. This trade represents a 20.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Purchased indirectly through two trusts. The transaction was executed in multiple trades at prices ranging from $241.59 to $242.59. The reported $242.06 price is the weighted-average purchase price. Insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Welltower Price Performance

WELL stock opened at $247.12 on Thursday. Welltower Inc. has a 12-month low of $181.47 and a 12-month high of $255.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.01, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 3.16, a quick ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $234.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $220.56.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.03. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.61% and a net margin of 12.08%. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. The company's revenue was up 38.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 6.50 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Welltower's payout ratio is currently 147.19%.

Key Welltower News

These are some of the WELL news items that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target to $289 from $269 and maintained a Buy rating, implying about 16.9% upside from the cited share price. UBS price target article
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan lifted its target to $273 from $260 and assigned an Overweight rating, indicating continued confidence in Welltower’s prospects. JPMorgan price target article
• Positive Sentiment: RBC raised its target to $266 from $260 and maintained an Outperform rating. RBC price target article

About Welltower

Welltower Inc. is a real estate investment trust focused on properties and services that support health care and aging. Its portfolio includes senior housing communities, outpatient medical facilities and post-acute care properties. The company works with senior housing operators, health care providers and other partners to own, lease and manage properties. Its operations span the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Founded in 1970 as Health Care REIT, the company adopted the Welltower name in 2015.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.