Mizuho Securities USA LLC Sells 7,284 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC has reduced its holding in Welltower Inc. by 13%, selling 7,284 shares, bringing its total to 48,782 shares valued at $7.47 million.
• Well-known institutional investors such as Northern Trust Corp and GAMMA Investing LLC have significantly increased their stakes in Welltower, with Northern Trust growing its holdings by 53.5%.
• Welltower recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.67 to $0.74 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 1.8% despite a high payout ratio of 151.41%.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC trimmed its position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 13.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,782 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 7,284 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Welltower were worth $7,474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its position in Welltower by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 10,225 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,567,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Welltower by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 8,917 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 2,275 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Welltower during the 1st quarter worth about $236,000. Forsta AP Fonden lifted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 190,600 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $29,202,000 after buying an additional 33,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 3,128 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Welltower Price Performance

WELL stock traded down $1.71 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $163.08. The company had a trading volume of 3,029,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,974,188. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $157.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.98. 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 company has a market cap of $109.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.93. Welltower Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.18 and a fifty-two week high of $171.09.

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

Welltower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. This is an increase from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. Welltower's payout ratio is presently 167.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Welltower news, Director Andrew Gundlach acquired 20,000 shares of Welltower stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $151.46 per share, with a total value of $3,029,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,029,200. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WELL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $169.82.

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.