Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys 154,809 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Welltower Inc. by 120.0%, holding 283,809 shares worth approximately $43.5 million, making it the 27th largest position in their portfolio.
• Welltower reported a 39.6% revenue increase year-over-year, with earnings per share of $1.28 for the latest quarter, surpassing estimates by $0.06.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.67 to $0.74 per share, reflecting a 1.8% dividend yield and an annualized payout of $2.96.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 120.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 283,809 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 154,809 shares during the period. Welltower comprises approximately 0.4% of Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Welltower were worth $43,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geller Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Welltower by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Geller Advisors LLC now owns 1,911 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Welltower by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 5,744 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $880,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Welltower by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,783 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in Welltower by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,644 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $558,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Welltower by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $678,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Welltower

In related news, Director Andrew Gundlach purchased 20,000 shares of Welltower stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $151.46 per share, for a total transaction of $3,029,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,029,200. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WELL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wedbush reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $169.82.

Welltower Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE WELL traded up $1.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $166.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,413,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,234,227. The stock has a market cap of $111.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 4.19 and a quick ratio of 4.23. Welltower Inc. has a one year low of $110.74 and a one year high of $168.84. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $155.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $149.04.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is an increase from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is currently 151.41%.

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.