Townsquare Capital LLC Raises Stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Welltower Inc. by 34.3% during the first quarter, owning a total of 8,917 shares valued at approximately $1.37 million.
• Welltower plans to increase its quarterly dividend from $0.67 to $0.74, which reflects an annualized dividend of $2.96 and a dividend yield of 1.8%.
• Analysts have set an average price target for Welltower at $169.82, with various ratings including two sell ratings, one hold, eight buy, and one strong buy.

Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 34.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,917 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 2,275 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Welltower were worth $1,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geller Advisors LLC boosted its position in Welltower by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Geller Advisors LLC now owns 1,911 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC boosted its position in Welltower by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 5,744 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $880,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Welltower by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,783 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in Welltower by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,644 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Welltower by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Andrew Gundlach bought 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was 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. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WELL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $169.82.

Welltower Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE WELL opened at $163.08 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $157.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $151.06. Welltower Inc. has a one year low of $115.18 and a one year high of $171.09. 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 market cap of $109.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.93.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.06. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.38% and a net margin of 12.18%. The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The business 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 boost 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 dividend yield of 1.8%. 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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