PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Welltower Inc. by 3.1%, acquiring an additional 6,645 shares, bringing its total holdings to 219,460 shares valued at approximately $33.6 million.
• Welltower recently reported earnings of $1.28 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, representing a significant increase of 39.6% year-over-year.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.67 to $0.74 per share, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders amid a payout ratio of 167.23%.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 219,460 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 6,645 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s holdings in Welltower were worth $33,623,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in Welltower by 25.1% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 503,922 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $77,206,000 after buying an additional 101,234 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. increased its position in shares of Welltower by 1.6% during the first quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. now owns 37,201 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,700,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 120.0% during the first quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 283,809 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $43,482,000 after acquiring an additional 154,809 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Welltower by 1.9% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 44,927 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $6,883,000 after buying an additional 824 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Welltower by 67.2% in the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 3,893 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Welltower

In other news, Director Andrew Gundlach bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $151.46 per share, for a total transaction of $3,029,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,029,200. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WELL traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $169.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,127,455 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,342,111. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 95.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $155.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $149.62. Welltower Inc. has a 1-year low of $111.28 and a 1-year high of $170.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 4.19 and a current ratio of 4.19.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. This is an increase from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is 151.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WELL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Evercore ISI raised 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, July 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.