Ethic Inc. Raises Stake in Welltower Inc. $WELL

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. has increased its stake in Welltower Inc. by 21.5% during Q1, now holding 97,094 shares worth approximately $14.97 million.
• Welltower has recently declared an increased quarterly dividend of $0.74, up from the previous $0.67, and analysts forecast an EPS of 4.88 for the current fiscal year.
• Welltower's shares are currently down 0.7%, and it has a market cap of $108.34 billion with a PE ratio of 91.51.

Ethic Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 21.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 97,094 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 17,177 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Welltower were worth $14,967,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Aberdeen Group plc boosted its stake in Welltower by 12.0% during the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 1,497,471 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $228,926,000 after buying an additional 160,264 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC increased its position in Welltower by 10.5% in the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 8,818 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares during the period. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC increased its position in Welltower by 3.6% in the first quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 56,254 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,619,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its position in Welltower by 29.2% in the first quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 18,622 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,853,000 after purchasing an additional 4,205 shares during the period. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its position in shares of Welltower by 23.3% during the 1st quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 676,272 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $103,612,000 after buying an additional 127,985 shares during the period. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Welltower news, Director Andrew Gundlach acquired 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $151.46 per share, with a total value of $3,029,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,029,200. This trade represents 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. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Welltower Trading Up 0.6%

WELL stock traded up $1.02 during mid-day 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 company has a market cap of $108.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.93. The business's 50 day moving average price is $157.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $151.62. 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 12 month low of $115.18 and a 12 month high of $171.09.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.38% and a net margin of 12.18%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a $0.74 dividend. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. Welltower's payout ratio is presently 167.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WELL shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.