Ascent Group LLC Takes $4.01 Million Position in Welltower Inc. $WELL

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC has made a significant investment in Welltower Inc., acquiring 26,186 shares worth approximately $4,012,000 during the first quarter, reflecting growing institutional interest in the real estate investment trust.
• Welltower recently reported a strong financial performance with $1.28 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, and set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.060-5.14 EPS.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, increasing from the previous $0.67, representing an annual yield of 1.7%.

Ascent Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 26,186 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $4,012,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WELL. SouthState Corp boosted its position in shares of Welltower by 704.8% in the 1st quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 169 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Welltower during the first quarter worth about $31,000. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Andrew Gundlach acquired 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were purchased 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 $3,029,200. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of WELL stock traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $168.39. 1,816,342 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,090,656. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $163.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.31. The company has a current ratio of 4.19, a quick ratio of 4.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Welltower Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.34 and a 52-week high of $171.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.93.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.06. Welltower had a net margin of 12.18% and a return on equity of 3.38%. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. Welltower's revenue for the quarter was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. Welltower has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.060-5.14 EPS. Research analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were given a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is presently 167.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.