Russell Investments Group Ltd. Increases Stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. has increased its stake in Welltower Inc. by 0.1% during the first quarter, owning approximately 3.49 million shares, valued at around $535 million.
• Welltower's recent quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting $1.28 EPS on revenue of $2.55 billion, a 39.6% increase compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.74 per share, reflecting a positive change from the previous $0.67 per share, with a yield of 1.8%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 0.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,494,066 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 2,967 shares during the period. Welltower accounts for 0.7% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.53% of Welltower worth $535,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Welltower by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,185 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Welltower by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 7,914 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $997,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Welltower by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 71,271 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $8,973,000 after acquiring an additional 995 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 22.0% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,642 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $837,000 after buying an additional 1,196 shares during the period. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter worth $543,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WELL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company 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. 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. Finally, Wedbush restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Two 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $169.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Welltower Stock Performance

NYSE:WELL opened at $167.93 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $157.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $150.89. The stock has a market cap of $112.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.88, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.93. Welltower Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.18 and a 1-year high of $171.09.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 EPS 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 net margin of 12.18% and a return on equity of 3.38%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. On average, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Welltower's payout ratio is 151.41%.

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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