Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Shares Bought by Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. significantly increased its stake in Welltower Inc. by 99.1% in the first quarter, now owning 8,552 shares valued at approximately $1.31 million.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.74 to be paid on August 21st, reflecting an increase from the previous dividend of $0.67, with an annualized yield of 1.78%.
• Welltower's stock has been rated as a "Moderate Buy" by analysts, with a consensus price target of $169.82 amidst fluctuations in brokerage ratings.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 99.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,552 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 4,256 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Welltower were worth $1,310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Welltower by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,185 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $527,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Welltower by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 17,713 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,232,000 after acquiring an additional 1,433 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Welltower by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,242 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Welltower by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 60,613 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,639,000 after acquiring an additional 5,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Welltower by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,140,397 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $143,724,000 after acquiring an additional 79,444 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Welltower

In other news, Director Andrew Gundlach purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $151.46 per share, with a total value of $3,029,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,029,200. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Welltower Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of WELL stock traded up $1.25 on Friday, hitting $166.32. 2,413,619 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,234,227. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $155.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.24 billion, a PE ratio of 93.97, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.93. Welltower Inc. has a twelve month low of $110.74 and a twelve month high of $168.84.

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 firm had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.49 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 12.18% and a return on equity of 3.38%. The company's revenue was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is presently 151.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WELL shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note 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 cut shares of Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $169.82.

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.