Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Cuts Stock Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stock position in Welltower Inc. by 12.7%, selling 4,199 shares and holding a total of 28,816 shares valued at approximately $4.4 million.
• Welltower recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.74 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.7%, up from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.67.
• Analysts have a mixed outlook on Welltower, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $169.82, reflecting varying opinions on the company's performance.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 12.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,816 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 4,199 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Welltower were worth $4,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in shares of Welltower by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,121,288 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $784,633,000 after acquiring an additional 118,185 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Welltower during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Welltower by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,956,594 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,065,820,000 after acquiring an additional 877,856 shares during the last quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new position in shares of Welltower during the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,203,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Welltower during the 1st quarter worth approximately $176,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Welltower

In other Welltower news, Director Andrew Gundlach bought 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WELL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Wedbush reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Welltower presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $169.82.

Welltower Stock Up 0.6%

WELL stock opened at $169.90 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $156.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $150.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 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 4.19. Welltower Inc. has a 52-week low of $114.37 and a 52-week high of $171.09.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 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 analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is presently 151.41%.

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.

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