NewEdge Wealth LLC Sells 6,961 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Key Points

• NewEdge Wealth LLC has reduced its stake in Welltower Inc. by 3.6%, selling 6,961 shares, resulting in ownership of 184,312 shares worth approximately $28.2 million.
• Welltower recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.67 to $0.74, leading to an annualized dividend of $2.96 with a yield of 1.8%.
• Analysts have set a new price target for Welltower Inc., with the average target at $169.82, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from multiple brokerages.

NewEdge Wealth LLC reduced its stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 184,312 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 6,961 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC's holdings in Welltower were worth $28,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Beacon Financial Planning Inc. lifted its position in shares of Welltower by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Financial Planning Inc. now owns 27,893 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,274,000 after buying an additional 1,780 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 61.4% in the first quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 6,756 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 2,571 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Welltower by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 258,052 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $39,536,000 after purchasing an additional 9,678 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Welltower by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 131,503 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $20,147,000 after purchasing an additional 10,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focused Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in Welltower in the first quarter valued at approximately $313,000. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 shares were bought at an average cost of $151.46 per share, with a total value of $3,029,200.00. Following the purchase, the director directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of WELL stock opened at $166.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.24 billion, a PE ratio of 93.97, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $155.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 4.19 and a quick ratio of 4.23. 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 data on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.06. Welltower had a net margin of 12.18% and a return on equity of 3.38%. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a $0.74 dividend. This is a boost from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is 151.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WELL. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Wedbush reissued an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $169.82.

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.

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