Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Grows Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Key Points

• Empirical Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Welltower Inc. by 67.2% during the first quarter, holding approximately $596,000 worth of shares after acquiring an additional 1,564 shares.
• Welltower announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.67 to $0.74 per share, with shareholders set to receive the payment on August 21st.
• Analysts have revised their target prices for Welltower, with estimates ranging from $158.00 to $175.00, indicating an overall positive outlook, as reflected in the average rating of "Moderate Buy."

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 67.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,893 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings in Welltower were worth $596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Welltower by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,185 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $527,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,242 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $282,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Welltower during the 4th quarter valued at $1,646,000. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Welltower during the 4th quarter valued at $42,856,000. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Wedbush restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $169.82.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Andrew Gundlach bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $151.46 per share, with a total value of $3,029,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,029,200. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Welltower Price Performance

WELL traded up $0.97 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $169.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,127,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,342,111. The business's 50-day moving average price is $155.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.62. Welltower Inc. has a 12 month low of $111.28 and a 12 month high of $170.30. The stock has a market cap of $113.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 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 (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.06. Welltower had a net margin of 12.18% and a return on equity of 3.38%. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. Welltower's quarterly revenue was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

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

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.