Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in Welltower Inc. $WELL

Key Points

• Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Welltower Inc. by 3.6%, now owning 56,254 shares valued at approximately $8.62 million.
• Welltower recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.67 to $0.74, with an annualized yield of 1.8%.
• Welltower's latest quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting $1.28 EPS compared to the analyst forecast of $1.22, alongside a revenue of $2.55 billion.

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,254 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 1,974 shares during the period. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC's holdings in Welltower were worth $8,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower in the first quarter worth approximately $762,204,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Welltower by 53.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,430,496 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,062,495,000 after acquiring an additional 2,939,229 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Welltower by 17,343.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,738,052 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $266,287,000 after buying an additional 1,728,088 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Welltower by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 18,706,788 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,357,617,000 after buying an additional 1,652,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Welltower during the fourth quarter worth approximately $194,272,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WELL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $169.82.

Insider Activity

In other Welltower news, Director Andrew Gundlach acquired 20,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,029,200. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Welltower Stock Up 0.6%

WELL traded up $1.02 on Friday, hitting $162.90. 2,490,254 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,500,482. Welltower Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.18 and a twelve month high of $171.09. The company has a market cap of $108.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 4.19, a quick ratio of 4.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $157.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $151.62.

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. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.38% and a net margin of 12.18%. The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. Welltower's revenue for the quarter was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is an increase from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Welltower's payout ratio 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.