Benjamin Edwards Inc. Lowers Holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its stake in Welltower Inc. by 49%, owning 11,378 shares worth approximately $1.74 million as of the last quarter.
• Welltower reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding expectations, with revenue increasing by 39.6% year-over-year.
• The company announced a boosted quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, up from $0.67, with a current annualized yield of 1.8% and a dividend payout ratio of 151.41%.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. decreased its position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 49.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,378 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 10,952 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Welltower were worth $1,743,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WELL. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Welltower in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Welltower in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Welltower in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Franchise Capital Ltd bought a new position in Welltower in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Welltower during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Andrew Gundlach acquired 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were 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 owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,029,200. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Welltower Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:WELL traded up $1.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $162.90. 2,490,254 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,962,388. The company has a fifty day moving average of $157.72 and a 200 day moving average of $151.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 4.19 and a current ratio of 4.19. Welltower Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.18 and a twelve month high of $171.09. The company has a market capitalization of $108.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.93.

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

Welltower Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a $0.74 dividend. This is a positive change from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Welltower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 167.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WELL shares. Wedbush reiterated an "underperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen cut Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $169.82.

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.