Synovus Financial Corp Boosts Stock Position in Welltower Inc. $WELL

Key Points

• Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in Welltower Inc. by 78.1%, owning 6,508 shares worth $997,000 after buying an additional 2,853 shares.
• Welltower's recent earnings report showed $1.28 EPS, exceeding estimates, with revenue rising 39.6% year-over-year to $2.55 billion.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.74 per share, reflecting a boost from the previous amount and providing a 1.8% dividend yield.

Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 78.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,508 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 2,853 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Welltower were worth $997,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WELL. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Welltower by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,185 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,331 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $798,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 355.0% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 138,133 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $17,409,000 after acquiring an additional 107,776 shares during the last quarter. Utah Retirement Systems increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 102,203 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $12,881,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adelante Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Adelante Capital Management LLC now owns 1,171,232 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $147,610,000 after acquiring an additional 20,350 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WELL traded up $0.97 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $168.37. The stock had a trading volume of 1,689,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,390,739. The firm has a market cap of $112.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.13, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 4.19, a quick ratio of 4.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Welltower Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $119.93 and a fifty-two week high of $171.09. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $160.73 and a 200-day moving average of $153.21.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion during 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 was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. Welltower has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.060-5.14 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Welltower's payout ratio is currently 167.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WELL shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Welltower from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Welltower has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $175.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Andrew Gundlach acquired 20,000 shares of Welltower stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was purchased 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,029,200. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.