Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) Shares Purchased by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Welltower Inc. by 68.2%, owning 109,933 shares worth approximately $16.8 million as of the end of the most recent quarter.
• Welltower's stock has received several analyst upgrades, with Wells Fargo raising the target price to $175 and the stock currently carrying a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $1.20, surpassing analyst expectations and reflected a 30.3% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 68.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 109,933 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 44,570 shares during the quarter. Welltower makes up 1.2% of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in Welltower were worth $16,843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geller Advisors LLC lifted its position in Welltower by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Geller Advisors LLC now owns 1,911 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its position in Welltower by 1.2% in the first 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 during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Welltower by 4.3% in the first 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 during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Welltower by 1.8% in the first 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 during the period. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Welltower by 4.3% in the first quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,854 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WELL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company 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, 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 note on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $168.18.

Insider Activity at Welltower

In other news, Director Andrew Gundlach acquired 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 approximately $3,029,200. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Welltower Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE WELL opened at $161.48 on Friday. Welltower Inc. has a 12 month low of $108.24 and a 12 month high of $162.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $153.35 and a 200-day moving average of $147.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 4.23 and a quick ratio of 4.23. The company has a market cap of $105.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Welltower Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Welltower's payout ratio is 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.