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

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 3.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,754,943 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 98,555 shares during the quarter. Welltower comprises 0.6% of Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Welltower were worth $634,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WELL. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Welltower by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,392 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC boosted its stake in Welltower by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC now owns 1,318 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Heritage Family Offices LLP boosted its stake in Welltower by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 997 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Family Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Welltower by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,678 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $835,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Natural Investments LLC grew its holdings in Welltower by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Natural Investments LLC now owns 1,673 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WELL. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $263.00 price objective on shares of Welltower in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Welltower from $215.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Welltower from $259.00 to $246.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Welltower from $269.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One research 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $263.10.

Welltower Price Performance

NYSE:WELL opened at $244.75 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.16, a quick ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market capitalization of $179.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 105.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.79. Welltower Inc. has a 12 month low of $181.47 and a 12 month high of $255.20. The business’s 50-day moving average is $234.49 and its 200 day moving average is $220.87.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 6.50 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. 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 currently 147.19%.

Insider Activity at Welltower

In other Welltower news, Director Andrew Gundlach bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $242.06 per share, with a total value of $1,210,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

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.