The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Raises Holdings in Welltower Inc. $WELL

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Welltower Inc. by 6.8%, owning 407,375 shares worth approximately $62.41 million at the end of the last quarter.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds now hold 94.80% of Welltower's stock, indicating strong institutional confidence in the company.
• Welltower recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.74 per share, up from the previous $0.67, reflecting its strong financial performance.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 6.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 407,375 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 26,047 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.06% of Welltower worth $62,414,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,289,684 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,261,792,000 after purchasing an additional 2,614,562 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Welltower by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 18,706,788 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,357,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652,611 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Welltower by 41.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,923,852 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,367,226,000 after acquiring an additional 2,622,384 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Welltower by 0.4% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,467,221 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,297,263,000 after purchasing an additional 36,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Welltower by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 7,632,705 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $961,950,000 after acquiring an additional 712,279 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Andrew Gundlach acquired 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $151.46 per share, for a total transaction of $3,029,200.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,029,200. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on WELL. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Welltower in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Welltower from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Welltower from $172.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given 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 a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $175.00.

Welltower Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of WELL stock traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $167.41. 2,090,906 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,905,052. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 4.19 and a current ratio of 4.19. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $161.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.45. Welltower Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.18 and a fifty-two week high of $171.09. The firm has a market cap of $111.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.05 EPS. Welltower has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.060-5.14 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were paid a $0.74 dividend. 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 payout ratio is currently 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.