Welltower Inc. $WELL Shares Bought by Candriam S.C.A.

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in Welltower Inc. by 538.2% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 342,457 shares to total roughly $62.2 million in value.
• Welltower recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.67 to $0.74, signaling a positive change for shareholders.
• The stock has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a new price target ranging around $169.82 according to multiple analysts' reports.

Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 538.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 406,090 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 342,457 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. owned about 0.06% of Welltower worth $62,217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WELL. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Welltower by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,185 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $527,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Welltower by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 9,938 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,253,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Welltower by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 231,615 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $29,190,000 after purchasing an additional 47,353 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in Welltower by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 38,323 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,830,000 after purchasing an additional 2,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in Welltower by 1,513.0% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 19,082 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,402,000 after purchasing an additional 17,899 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WELL. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $169.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Andrew Gundlach purchased 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were bought at an average price 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 represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Welltower Stock Performance

WELL opened at $163.4290 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $109.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 4.19 and a quick ratio of 4.19. Welltower Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.49 and a 1-year high of $171.09. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $158.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $151.88.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.38% and a net margin of 12.18%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. Welltower has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.060-5.14 EPS. Research analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

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

Welltower Company 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.