Welltower Inc. $WELL Stock Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management cut its Welltower stake by 5.8% in the third quarter, selling 55,039 shares. It held 890,406 shares worth about $205 million at quarter-end.
• Welltower reported quarterly EPS of $1.67, beating estimates of $1.64, while revenue rose 38.4% year over year to $3.72 billion.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $259.81; the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA decreased its stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 890,406 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 55,039 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.12% of Welltower worth $205,007,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Welltower during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Solstein Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Welltower during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Welltower by 472.7% in the first quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC lifted its holdings in Welltower by 42.6% in the second quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 164 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Welltower in the second quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Welltower Price Performance

NYSE:WELL opened at $245.32 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $233.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $219.61. The firm has a market cap of $179.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 106.20, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.79. Welltower Inc. has a 52-week low of $181.47 and a 52-week high of $255.20. 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 (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.03. Welltower had a net margin of 12.08% and a return on equity of 3.61%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. Welltower's revenue for the quarter was up 38.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be issued 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 payout ratio is presently 147.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Welltower from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $230.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Welltower from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Welltower from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on shares of Welltower from $238.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Welltower from $244.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Welltower presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $259.81.

Insider Activity at Welltower

In other Welltower news, Director Andrew Gundlach bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $242.06 per share, for a total transaction of $1,210,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 30,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,261,800. This trade represents a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 owned by insiders.

Welltower 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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