Westpac Banking Corp Has $12.99 Million Stock Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp reduced its stake in Welltower Inc. by 4.7%, bringing its holdings to 84,811 shares, valued at approximately $12.99 million.
• Welltower reported a 39.6% increase in revenue year-over-year, with earnings per share (EPS) of $1.28 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.67 to $0.74, reflecting a dividend yield of 1.8% and a payout ratio of 151.41%.

Westpac Banking Corp lowered its stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 4.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 84,811 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 4,150 shares during the period. Welltower accounts for 1.0% of Westpac Banking Corp's holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Welltower were worth $12,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WELL. SouthState Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 704.8% during the first quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 169 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Welltower during the first quarter worth $28,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Welltower during the first quarter worth $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Welltower during the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Franchise Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Welltower during the first quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of WELL stock opened at $167.93 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.88, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 4.19, a quick ratio of 4.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm's 50 day moving average is $157.08 and its 200 day moving average is $150.89. Welltower Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.18 and a 12 month high of $171.09.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. This is a boost from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is currently 151.41%.

Insider Transactions at Welltower

In related news, Director Andrew Gundlach purchased 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $151.46 per share, with a total value of $3,029,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WELL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Welltower presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $169.82.

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.

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