Welltower Inc. $WELL Stake Cut by Windward Capital Management Co. CA

Key Points

• Windward Capital Management Co. CA sold 1,603 shares of Welltower Inc., reducing its holdings by 3.3% to a total of 47,269 shares, valued at approximately $7.24 million.
• Welltower declared a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, up from $0.67, with an annualized yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 167.23%.
• Major institutional investors, including Bank of America and Northern Trust Corp, have substantially increased their stakes in Welltower, reflecting strong investor confidence in the company.

Windward Capital Management Co. CA reduced its position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,269 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 1,603 shares during the quarter. Windward Capital Management Co. CA's holdings in Welltower were worth $7,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Geller Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Welltower by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 5,744 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $880,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Welltower by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,783 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its position in Welltower by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,644 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $558,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Welltower by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Welltower

In related news, Director Andrew Gundlach bought 20,000 shares of Welltower stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $151.46 per share, with a total value of $3,029,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,029,200. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on WELL shares. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $173.10.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of Welltower stock traded up $0.7730 during trading on Thursday, hitting $166.7630. The stock had a trading volume of 2,272,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,937,172. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 4.19 and a quick ratio of 4.19. The firm has a market cap of $111.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.22, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a fifty day moving average of $158.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $151.98. Welltower Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $116.50 and a fifty-two week high of $171.09.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.38% and a net margin of 12.18%.The business had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. Welltower has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.060-5.14 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. Welltower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 167.23%.

About Welltower

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.