Vontobel Holding Ltd. Grows Stock Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 68.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,605 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 9,987 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Welltower were worth $3,770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Geller Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $880,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Welltower by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 733 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Wedbush restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Welltower from $141.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $168.18.

Insider Transactions at Welltower

In related news, Director Andrew Gundlach purchased 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $151.46 per share, for a total transaction of $3,029,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,029,200. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Welltower Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE WELL traded up $1.34 on Monday, reaching $154.11. 2,764,253 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,921,051. The company has a 50 day moving average of $151.16 and a 200 day moving average of $144.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.78 billion, a PE ratio of 88.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.92. Welltower Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $102.92 and a fifty-two week high of $158.55. The company has a current ratio of 4.23, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.40 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 12.65% and a return on equity of 3.41%. The company's revenue was up 30.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. Welltower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 154.02%.

Welltower 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.