Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Shares Purchased by Swiss National Bank

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Welltower Inc. by 0.5%, owning a total of 1,756,300 shares valued at approximately $269 million.
• Welltower recently reported earnings of $1.28 per share, exceeding analyst estimates of $1.22, with quarterly revenue rising 39.6% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.74 per share, reflecting a boost from the previous dividend of $0.67, with the dividend yield currently at 1.7%.

Swiss National Bank raised its stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,756,300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 9,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.27% of Welltower worth $269,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Welltower during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Welltower during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Franchise Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Welltower during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Welltower during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on WELL shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $169.82.

Welltower Stock Down 0.1%

WELL stock traded down $0.10 during trading on Monday, hitting $167.93. 2,484,520 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,976,825. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.88, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.67. 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 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 earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.38% and a net margin of 12.18%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. This is a positive change 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is 151.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Welltower news, Director Andrew Gundlach bought 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were acquired 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.