Natixis Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC has increased its stake in Welltower Inc. by 19.8%, now owning approximately 0.07% of the company, valued at $65.27 million.
• Welltower reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.28, surpassing analyst expectations, alongside a revenue of $2.55 billion, reflecting a 39.6% year-over-year increase.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.74 per share, with a corresponding annualized dividend yield of 1.78%.

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 19.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 425,994 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 70,329 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.07% of Welltower worth $65,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WELL. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Welltower during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower during the first quarter worth $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower during the first quarter worth $31,000. Franchise Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower during the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower during the first quarter worth $32,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Welltower

In other Welltower news, Director Andrew Gundlach acquired 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was purchased 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 directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,029,200. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Welltower Trading Up 0.8%

WELL traded up $1.25 on Friday, hitting $166.32. 2,413,619 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,234,227. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.24 billion, a PE ratio of 93.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.93. Welltower Inc. has a 12 month low of $110.74 and a 12 month high of $168.84. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $149.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.19.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.49 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.38% and a net margin of 12.18%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued 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 yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is presently 151.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on WELL. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday. 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. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wedbush reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Welltower has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $169.82.

About Welltower

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.