Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Shares Acquired by National Bank of Canada FI

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Welltower Inc. by 49.3%, acquiring 229,330 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to 694,889 shares valued at approximately $106.5 million.
• Welltower recently reported its quarterly earnings with an EPS of $1.28, exceeding estimates, and revenue of $2.55 billion, reflecting a 39.6% increase compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, up from $0.67, indicating a positive growth trend despite a payout ratio of 151.41%.

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 49.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 694,889 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 229,330 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.11% of Welltower worth $106,464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Welltower by 53.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,430,496 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,062,495,000 after buying an additional 2,939,229 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Welltower by 17,343.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,738,052 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $266,287,000 after buying an additional 1,728,088 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Welltower by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 18,706,788 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,357,617,000 after buying an additional 1,652,611 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower in the fourth quarter valued at about $194,272,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Welltower by 27.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,728,921 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $724,518,000 after buying an additional 1,030,599 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Wedbush reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $169.82.

Welltower Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of WELL stock traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $167.93. The company had a trading volume of 2,484,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,375,144. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 4.19 and a quick ratio of 4.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.32 billion, a PE ratio of 94.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.93. The company's fifty day moving average is $156.82 and its 200 day moving average is $150.67. 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 released 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. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.38% and a net margin of 12.18%. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This is a boost from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is currently 151.41%.

Insider Activity

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

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.