Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Stock Holdings Increased by Assetmark Inc.

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. significantly increased its ownership in Welltower Inc. by 867.3% in the first quarter, acquiring a total of 108,030 shares worth approximately $16.55 million.
• Various institutional investors have also expanded their stakes in Welltower, with Northern Trust Corp and Groupama Asset Management making substantial increases of 53.5% and 23,204.3% respectively in the fourth quarter.
• Welltower's stock has been the subject of mixed analyst ratings, including increases in price targets by firms like Evercore ISI and Morgan Stanley, while others have lowered their ratings, reflecting a range of investor sentiments about its performance.

Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 867.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 108,030 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 96,862 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in Welltower were worth $16,551,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Welltower during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Franchise Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, ZynergyRetirementPlanningLLC bought a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WELL traded up $7.71 on Tuesday, hitting $166.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,183,746 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,978,470. The stock's 50-day moving average is $153.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.25. Welltower Inc. has a 12 month low of $110.74 and a 12 month high of $166.08. The company has a market capitalization of $108.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.23.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 3.41% and a net margin of 12.65%. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This is a positive change from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Welltower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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 stock was acquired at an average price of $151.46 per share, for a total transaction of $3,029,200.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,029,200. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WELL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Welltower from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Welltower presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $168.18.

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.