Gotham Asset Management LLC Raises Position in Welltower Inc. $WELL

Key Points

• Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Welltower Inc. by 8.6%, now owning a total of 71,515 shares worth approximately $10.96 million.
• Welltower recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, up from the previous $0.67, indicating a positive trend in shareholder returns.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $175.00 for Welltower, with recent upgrades from various firms enhancing its "Moderate Buy" status.

Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 8.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 71,515 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 5,691 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Welltower were worth $10,957,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SouthState Corp grew its holdings in Welltower by 704.8% during the 1st quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 169 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Welltower in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Welltower in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Welltower during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Welltower during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Welltower

In related news, Director Andrew Gundlach bought 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,029,200. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Welltower Stock Performance

NYSE WELL traded down $0.73 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $168.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,031,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,888,683. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 4.19 and a current ratio of 4.19. The firm has a market cap of $112.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.93. Welltower Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.34 and a twelve month high of $171.09. The business's fifty day moving average price is $162.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.09.

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 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 business had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Welltower has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.060-5.14 EPS. As a group, 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 was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were paid a $0.74 dividend. This is an increase from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Welltower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 167.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WELL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Welltower from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on Welltower from $172.00 to $181.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $175.00.

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.