Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Makes New $4.40 Million Investment in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired 28,711 shares of Welltower Inc., valued at approximately $4.4 million, as part of its investment strategy during the 1st quarter.
• Welltower has seen a range of analyst upgrades recently, with target prices raised by firms like Wells Fargo and Evercore ISI, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• The company declared an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.67 to $0.74 per share, representing a yield of 1.87% and reflecting its strong performance in quarterly earnings.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 28,711 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $4,399,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WELL. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Franchise Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Welltower in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Welltower in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Welltower Price Performance

WELL stock traded up $1.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $166.39. 1,493,678 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,980,885. The company has a current ratio of 4.19, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Welltower Inc. has a one year low of $110.74 and a one year high of $168.84. The company has a market cap of $108.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.77.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.38% and a net margin of 12.18%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The company 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 boost 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%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. Welltower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 167.23%.

Insider Activity

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 acquired at an average price of $151.46 per share, with a total value of $3,029,200.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,029,200. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on WELL. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wedbush reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Welltower has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $169.82.

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.