Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Stock Position Boosted by M.D. Sass LLC

Key Points

• M.D. Sass LLC increased its shareholding in Welltower Inc. by 9.1%, acquiring 35,054 shares in the first quarter, making it the firm's fourth largest holding with a value of approximately $64.7 million.
• Welltower plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, which is an increase from the previous dividend of $0.67, indicating a 1.8% yield.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Welltower, with a consensus price target of $169.82 following various analyst reports indicating optimism about the company's growth.

M.D. Sass LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 9.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 422,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 35,054 shares during the period. Welltower makes up 5.7% of M.D. Sass LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. M.D. Sass LLC owned about 0.06% of Welltower worth $64,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WELL. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Welltower in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Welltower during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Welltower during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Franchise Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Welltower during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Welltower during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Welltower

In other news, Director Andrew Gundlach bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $151.46 per share, for a total transaction of $3,029,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WELL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wedbush reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $169.82.

Welltower Trading Up 0.2%

WELL traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $169.10. 1,302,317 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,975,194. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $155.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.62. Welltower Inc. has a 52-week low of $111.28 and a 52-week high of $170.30. The company has a quick ratio of 4.19, a current ratio of 4.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.10 billion, a PE ratio of 95.62, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 EPS. Welltower's revenue was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is a positive change from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Welltower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.