Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 145,947 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank increased its holdings in Welltower Inc. by 26.8% in the first quarter, bringing its total to approximately $105.84 million invested in 690,785 shares.
• Welltower reported earnings of $1.20 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a 30.3% year-over-year revenue increase of $2.42 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.67 per share, which translates to an annualized yield of 1.66%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 154.02%.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 26.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 690,785 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 145,947 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.11% of Welltower worth $105,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,096,408 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $4,674,826,000 after buying an additional 318,496 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Welltower by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 18,706,788 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,357,617,000 after acquiring an additional 1,652,611 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Welltower by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 15,782,795 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,989,106,000 after acquiring an additional 1,354,231 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Welltower by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,558,841 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,707,570,000 after purchasing an additional 644,494 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Welltower by 53.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,430,496 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,062,495,000 after purchasing an additional 2,939,229 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Andrew Gundlach bought 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $151.46 per share, with a total value of $3,029,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,029,200. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Welltower Trading Up 0.4%

WELL traded up $0.72 on Wednesday, hitting $166.68. 807,275 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,980,843. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 4.23 and a current ratio of 4.23. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $154.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $148.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.00 billion, a PE ratio of 94.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.92. Welltower Inc. has a 12 month low of $110.74 and a 12 month high of $168.84.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.06. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.48% and a net margin of 12.18%. The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 12th. This is an increase from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is currently 154.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Welltower presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $169.82.

About Welltower

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.