Centersquare Investment Management LLC Acquires 67,835 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Key Points

• Centersquare Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Welltower Inc. by 1.4%, now owning approximately 4,962,246 shares valued at $760.3 million, making it the largest holding in the firm's portfolio.
• Welltower reported strong quarterly earnings, with a 39.6% increase in revenue year-over-year and an EPS of $1.28, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.22.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.74 per share, reflecting a shift up from the previous $0.67 and representing an annual yield of 1.7%.

Centersquare Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,962,246 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 67,835 shares during the quarter. Welltower makes up 7.9% of Centersquare Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Centersquare Investment Management LLC owned 0.76% of Welltower worth $760,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Welltower in the first quarter worth $28,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Welltower in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Franchise Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Welltower during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Welltower during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Wedbush restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $169.82.

Insider Transactions at Welltower

In other news, Director Andrew Gundlach acquired 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $151.46 per share, with a total value of $3,029,200.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,029,200. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Welltower Price Performance

WELL stock traded up $0.94 during trading on Thursday, hitting $169.90. The company had a trading volume of 2,591,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,376,813. The business has a 50 day moving average of $156.55 and a 200 day moving average of $150.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.93. 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 fifty-two week low of $114.37 and a fifty-two week high of $171.09.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 12.18% and a return on equity of 3.38%. Welltower's revenue was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. This is an increase from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is 151.41%.

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.