Arizona State Retirement System Acquires 4,524 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 182,742 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 4,524 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Welltower were worth $27,998,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Welltower during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Franchise Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Welltower during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. ZynergyRetirementPlanningLLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of Welltower by 57.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 294 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Welltower Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of Welltower stock opened at $155.10 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.37. Welltower Inc. has a 1 year low of $103.36 and a 1 year high of $158.55. The company has a market capitalization of $101.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 4.23 and a quick ratio of 4.23.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.05. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.41% and a net margin of 12.65%. The company had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 30.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is currently 154.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Welltower

In related news, Director Andrew Gundlach purchased 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,029,200. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WELL. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wedbush reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Welltower from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $168.18.

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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