HighTower Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Welltower Inc. $WELL

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Welltower Inc. by 5.0% in the first quarter, owning 91,984 shares valued at approximately $14.1 million.
• Welltower recently announced a dividend increase to $0.74 per share, up from $0.67, representing an annualized yield of 1.8%.
• The company reported earnings per share of $1.28 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and showing a 39.6% year-over-year revenue growth.

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 5.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 91,984 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 4,386 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Welltower were worth $14,093,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AGF Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Welltower by 4.8% in the first quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 60,444 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,261,000 after purchasing an additional 2,746 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in Welltower by 5.7% in the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 162,902 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $24,958,000 after purchasing an additional 8,752 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd grew its holdings in Welltower by 2.5% in the first quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 12,500 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in Welltower by 1.2% in the first quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 12,969 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,987,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, SouthState Corp grew its holdings in Welltower by 704.8% in the first quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 169 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WELL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $173.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Andrew Gundlach acquired 20,000 shares of Welltower stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 approximately $3,029,200. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Welltower Stock Performance

WELL traded down $1.0450 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $165.8950. The company's stock had a trading volume of 396,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,920,860. 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 company's 50-day moving average is $159.00 and its 200-day moving average is $152.16. Welltower Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.00 and a 52 week high of $171.09. The firm has a market cap of $110.96 billion, a PE ratio of 93.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.93.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.06. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.38% and a net margin of 12.18%.The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. Welltower has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.060-5.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is a positive change from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is 167.23%.

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.