Welltower Inc. $WELL Position Lessened by Candriam S.C.A.

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. cut its Welltower stake by 64.8% in the third quarter, selling 194,561 shares and ending the period with 105,485 shares worth about $24.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.8% of the REIT.
• Welltower reported quarterly EPS of $1.67, topping estimates of $1.64, while revenue of $3.72 billion exceeded expectations and rose 38.4% year over year.
• Analysts give Welltower a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $259.81. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share, equivalent to a 1.4% yield.

Candriam S.C.A. trimmed its position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 64.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,485 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 194,561 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Welltower were worth $24,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Welltower by 13.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 238,162 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $54,056,000 after purchasing an additional 27,345 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Welltower by 0.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,345,022 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,649,844,000 after purchasing an additional 57,938 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Welltower by 9.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 916,367 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $207,986,000 after purchasing an additional 79,088 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Welltower by 9.9% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,014,200 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $398,227,000 after purchasing an additional 181,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Welltower by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 42,138,810 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,564,246,000 after purchasing an additional 578,033 shares during the period. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Welltower Trading Up 0.1%

WELL stock opened at $245.32 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $233.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $219.61. Welltower Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $181.47 and a fifty-two week high of $255.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 106.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 3.16 and a quick ratio of 3.16.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.03. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.61% and a net margin of 12.08%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 38.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. Welltower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 147.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Andrew Gundlach bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $242.06 per share, with a total value of $1,210,300.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 30,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,261,800. The trade was a 20.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Purchased indirectly through two trusts. The transaction was executed in multiple trades at prices ranging from $241.59 to $242.59. The reported $242.06 price is the weighted-average purchase price. Insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WELL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Welltower from $215.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on Welltower from $238.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Mizuho raised their target price on Welltower from $239.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Freedom Broker raised Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $255.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Welltower from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $259.81.

About Welltower

Welltower Inc is a real estate investment trust focused on properties and services that support health care and aging. Its portfolio includes senior housing communities, outpatient medical facilities and post-acute care properties.

The company works with senior housing operators, health care providers and other partners to own, lease and manage properties. Its operations span the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Founded in 1970 as Health Care REIT, the company adopted the Welltower name in 2015.

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