E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Buys New Shares in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Key Points

• E Fund Management Co. Ltd. made a new investment of approximately $244,000 in Welltower Inc., acquiring 1,590 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock.
• Welltower's quarterly dividend increased from $0.67 to $0.74, with an annualized yield of 1.8%.
• Wells Fargo recently raised its price target for Welltower shares from $158.00 to $175.00, indicating an "overweight" rating as part of a broader trend of positive analyst outlooks.

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 1,590 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $244,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Welltower by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,180 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,092,000 after acquiring an additional 786 shares in the last quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. lifted its holdings in Welltower by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. now owns 10,234 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,568,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Welltower by 9.1% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,531,823 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $234,691,000 after buying an additional 127,863 shares during the period. Prudential PLC increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 115,507 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $17,697,000 after acquiring an additional 11,516 shares during the period. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Welltower by 9.5% in the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 374,603 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $57,450,000 after purchasing an additional 32,589 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Welltower Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE WELL traded up $1.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $162.90. 2,490,254 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,500,482. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 4.19 and a current ratio of 4.19. Welltower Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.18 and a 1 year high of $171.09. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $157.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $151.62. The stock has a market cap 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 (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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.06. Welltower had a net margin of 12.18% and a return on equity of 3.38%. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Andrew Gundlach purchased 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,029,200. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $169.82.

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.