Bleakley Financial Group LLC Grows Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 88.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,849 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 8,859 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC's holdings in Welltower were worth $2,888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WELL. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Welltower by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,185 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Welltower by 148.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,047 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 2,417 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Welltower by 61.9% in the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 3,739 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 1,429 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Welltower by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 355,665 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $44,825,000 after purchasing an additional 20,106 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its position in shares of Welltower by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 230,918 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $29,103,000 after purchasing an additional 22,918 shares during the period. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of WELL stock traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $157.66. The company had a trading volume of 1,484,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,897,233. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $151.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $146.02. Welltower Inc. has a one year low of $105.54 and a one year high of $158.55. The firm has a market cap of $103.10 billion, a PE ratio of 90.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 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, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.40 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 12.65% and a return on equity of 3.41%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 30.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.01 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. Welltower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 154.02%.

Insider Transactions at Welltower

In other Welltower news, Director Andrew Gundlach bought 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost 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. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WELL shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $168.18.

About Welltower

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.