Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 227,327 Shares of Welltower Inc. $WELL

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP has reduced its stake in Welltower Inc. by 3.0%, now holding over 7.2 million shares worth approximately $1.11 billion.
• Welltower recently declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.74 per share, marking a positive change from the previous $0.67 dividend, with a yield of 1.8%.
• Welltower's stock has been rated as a "Moderate Buy" by analysts, with a rise in price targets from various firms, reflecting optimism about its performance.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP cut its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 3.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,248,482 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 227,327 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.11% of Welltower worth $1,110,537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WELL. Geller Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Welltower by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Geller Advisors LLC now owns 1,911 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 1.2% in the first quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 5,744 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $880,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 4.3% in the first quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,783 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 2.0% in the first quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,644 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $558,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Welltower by 1.8% during the first quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $678,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WELL has been the subject of a number of research reports. 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 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. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $169.82.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of Welltower stock traded up $1.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $162.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,490,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,500,482. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.93. Welltower Inc. has a one year low of $115.18 and a one year high of $171.09. The company has a current ratio of 4.19, a quick ratio of 4.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $157.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $151.62.

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

Welltower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. This is a boost from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Welltower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 167.23%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Welltower news, Director Andrew Gundlach purchased 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $151.46 per share, for a total transaction of $3,029,200.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,029,200. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

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.