Strs Ohio Acquires Shares of 773,141 Welltower Inc. $WELL

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has acquired 773,141 shares of Welltower Inc., valued at approximately $118.45 million, making it the company's 27th biggest holding, representing about 0.5% of Strs Ohio's investment portfolio.
• The board director, Andrew Gundlach, purchased 20,000 shares of Welltower stock for $3.03 million, significantly increasing his ownership stake in the company.
• Analysts have raised their target prices for Welltower shares, with the average consensus now at $175.00 and a range of recommendations from "Strong Buy" to "Sell" reflecting demand for the stock.

Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 773,141 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $118,453,000. Welltower comprises about 0.5% of Strs Ohio's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Strs Ohio owned approximately 0.12% of Welltower as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WELL. SouthState Corp lifted its holdings in Welltower by 704.8% during the first quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 169 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower in the first quarter worth about $31,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Welltower

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WELL. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Welltower from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Welltower from $172.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $175.00.

Welltower Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of WELL opened at $168.12 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.19. Welltower Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.34 and a 1 year high of $171.09. 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 market cap of $112.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. Welltower's revenue for the quarter was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Welltower has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.060-5.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th were given a $0.74 dividend. This is a boost 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%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is 167.23%.

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.

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