Stevens Capital Management LP Acquires 16,993 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Key Points

• Stevens Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Welltower Inc. by 130.1% in Q1, making it the 23rd largest holding in their investment portfolio, valued at approximately $4.6 million.
• Several large investors made significant changes to their positions in Welltower, with Norges Bank investing nearly $4 billion and other firms increasing their stakes by substantial percentages during the last quarter.
• Welltower reported $1.20 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.67 per share, leading to an annualized yield of 1.66%.

Stevens Capital Management LP raised its stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 130.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,057 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 16,993 shares during the period. Welltower comprises about 1.1% of Stevens Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Stevens Capital Management LP's holdings in Welltower were worth $4,605,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Beacon Financial Planning Inc. boosted its position in shares of Welltower by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Financial Planning Inc. now owns 27,893 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,274,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Welltower by 61.4% during the 1st quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 6,756 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 2,571 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in shares of Welltower by 23,204.3% during the 4th quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 1,900,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,891,847 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Welltower by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 131,503 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $20,147,000 after purchasing an additional 10,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Welltower by 10.3% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 712,279 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Welltower from $145.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $168.18.

Insider Transactions at Welltower

In other Welltower news, Director Andrew Gundlach acquired 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $151.46 per share, with a total value of $3,029,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,029,200. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WELL traded up $7.47 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $165.76. The company had a trading volume of 2,180,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,973,742. The company has a market capitalization of $108.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.92. Welltower Inc. has a 1 year low of $110.74 and a 1 year high of $165.87. The company has a current ratio of 4.23, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $153.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.25.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.49 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.41% and a net margin of 12.65%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This is a positive change from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. Welltower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 154.02%.

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.