Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Shares Purchased by Forsta AP Fonden

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden increased its holdings in Welltower Inc. by 21.5% during the first quarter, owning 190,600 shares valued at $29.2 million.
• Welltower reported an EPS of $1.28 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and its revenue increased by 39.6% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, reflecting a boost from the previous $0.67, with a current dividend yield of 1.7%.

Forsta AP Fonden increased its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 21.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 190,600 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 33,700 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Welltower were worth $29,202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,185 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $527,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Welltower by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 2,287 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Welltower by 22.1% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 395,077 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $49,792,000 after acquiring an additional 71,457 shares in the last quarter. Shelton Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 17.4% in the fourth quarter. Shelton Capital Management now owns 3,278 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in Welltower by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 84,054 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $10,593,000 after purchasing an additional 5,509 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Welltower Stock Performance

NYSE:WELL opened at $169.90 on Friday. Welltower Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.37 and a twelve month high of $171.09. The company has a quick ratio of 4.19, a current ratio of 4.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.63 billion, a PE ratio of 95.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.93. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $156.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.17.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.49 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.38% and a net margin of 12.18%. The firm's revenue was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. This is a boost from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is presently 151.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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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