Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Grows Stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in Welltower Inc. by 25.1%, owning approximately 503,922 shares worth $77 million after buying 101,234 additional shares in the first quarter.
• Welltower's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $1.28 EPS against a consensus estimate of $1.22, along with a 39.6% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, representing a 1.8% yield, up from the previous dividend of $0.67, though its payout ratio stands at 151.41%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 25.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 503,922 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 101,234 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned 0.08% of Welltower worth $77,206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hartford Investment Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Welltower by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. now owns 37,201 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $5,700,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Welltower by 120.0% during the 1st quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 283,809 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $43,482,000 after purchasing an additional 154,809 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Welltower by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 44,927 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $6,883,000 after purchasing an additional 824 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its stake in Welltower by 67.2% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 3,893 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Welltower by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,948 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 462 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Welltower news, Director Andrew Gundlach acquired 20,000 shares of Welltower stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on 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 price target on Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $169.82.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WELL traded up $1.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $166.32. The company had a trading volume of 2,413,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,354,914. The company has a current ratio of 4.19, a quick ratio of 4.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $111.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 93.97, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93. The company's 50-day moving average price is $155.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.34. Welltower Inc. has a one year low of $110.74 and a one year high of $168.84.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.49 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 12.18% and a return on equity of 3.38%. Welltower's revenue was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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 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.