Welltower Inc. $WELL Stock: Russell Investments Group Ltd. Reduces Position

Key Points

• Russell Investments cut its Welltower position by 3.5% in the third quarter, selling 98,555 shares; it still held 2.75 million shares worth about $634.5 million.
• Welltower beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting EPS of $1.67 and revenue of $3.72 billion; revenue rose 38.4% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating is Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $263.10. Welltower also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share, equivalent to a 1.4% yield.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,754,943 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 98,555 shares during the period. Welltower comprises about 0.6% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.38% of Welltower worth $634,477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Welltower by 5.5% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 78,049,214 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $17,714,830,000 after purchasing an additional 4,045,458 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Welltower by 1.4% during 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. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Welltower by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,750,501 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,300,291,000 after purchasing an additional 1,347,243 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Welltower by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,814,621 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,227,642,000 after purchasing an additional 207,966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Welltower by 0.7% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of WELL opened at $244.75 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $234.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $220.87. The company has a quick ratio of 3.16, a current ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Welltower Inc. has a 52 week low of $181.47 and a 52 week high of $255.20. The stock has a market cap of $179.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 105.95, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.79.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.64 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.61% and a net margin of 12.08%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 38.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 6.50 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is presently 147.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Welltower

In other news, Director Andrew Gundlach purchased 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $242.06 per share, for a total transaction of $1,210,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 30,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,261,800. This trade represents 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. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WELL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Welltower from $260.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Welltower from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Welltower from $239.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $263.00 price target on shares of Welltower in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Freedom Broker upgraded shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Welltower currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $263.10.

Welltower Company Profile

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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