Welltower Inc. $WELL Shares Purchased by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Welltower Inc. by 0.6%, owning approximately $110.76 million worth of the real estate investment trust.
• Welltower reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.28, exceeding analysts' expectations, along with a revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.74, up from $0.67, with a dividend payout ratio of 167.23% and an annualized yield of 1.8%.

Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 0.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 722,928 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 4,331 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.11% of Welltower worth $110,760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. SouthState Corp boosted its stake in shares of Welltower by 704.8% in the first quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 169 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Welltower during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Welltower in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Welltower during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Franchise Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of Welltower stock traded down $2.7420 on Friday, hitting $164.1980. 2,798,425 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,936,385. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $159.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.16. Welltower Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.00 and a 1-year high of $171.09. The company has a quick ratio of 4.19, a current ratio of 4.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion for 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. Welltower has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.060-5.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. 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 dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is currently 167.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Welltower

In related news, Director Andrew Gundlach acquired 20,000 shares of the business's 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. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WELL. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $173.10.

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.