Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Stake Boosted by LPL Financial LLC

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Welltower Inc. by 3.9%, bringing its total holdings to over $39 million.
• A recent insider transaction revealed that Director Andrew Gundlach purchased 20,000 shares of Welltower at an average price of $151.46, valuing the transaction at approximately $3 million.
• Welltower announced a dividend increase from $0.67 to $0.74 per share, with a yield of 1.8%, set to be paid on August 21st.

LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 3.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 258,052 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 9,678 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Welltower were worth $39,536,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Welltower by 7.1% in 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 during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Welltower by 28.4% during 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 buying an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its position in Welltower by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 6,325 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $797,000 after buying an additional 866 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in Welltower in the fourth quarter worth $282,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Welltower in the fourth quarter valued at $1,646,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WELL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wedbush restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $169.82.

Insider Activity

In other Welltower news, Director Andrew Gundlach bought 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was acquired 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 directly 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Welltower Price Performance

NYSE WELL traded up $1.25 on Friday, reaching $166.32. 2,413,619 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,354,914. Welltower Inc. has a 12 month low of $110.74 and a 12 month high of $168.84. The company has a market cap of $111.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $155.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.34. The company has a quick ratio of 4.19, a current ratio of 4.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

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

Welltower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend 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 presently 151.41%.

Welltower Company 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.