VCI Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Welltower Inc. $WELL

VCI Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 16,685 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $3,841,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WELL. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in Welltower by 5.5% during 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 buying an additional 4,045,458 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position 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 worth $9,564,246,000 after buying an additional 578,033 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew 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 worth $4,300,291,000 after buying an additional 1,347,243 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew 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 worth $2,227,642,000 after buying an additional 207,966 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew 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 worth $1,649,844,000 after buying an additional 57,938 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Welltower

In other Welltower news, Director Andrew Gundlach acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 approximately $7,261,800. This trade represents a 20.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 corporate insiders.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of Welltower stock opened at $238.59 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $175.03 billion, a PE ratio of 103.28, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.75. Welltower Inc. has a 12 month low of $179.24 and a 12 month high of $255.20. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $233.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.49.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.03. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.61% and a net margin of 12.08%. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 6.49 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 147.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on WELL shares. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on Welltower from $238.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $266.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Welltower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Welltower from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $260.00 in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on shares of Welltower from $260.00 to $258.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $259.81.

Welltower Company Profile

Welltower Inc (NYSE: WELL) is a healthcare-focused real estate investment trust that owns, develops, and manages properties used to provide healthcare and related services. Its portfolio is centered on senior housing communities, outpatient medical facilities, and post-acute care properties, including assets operated by healthcare providers and senior living companies.

The company’s senior housing investments support independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. Its outpatient medical properties accommodate physicians, clinics, and other healthcare providers, while its broader healthcare real estate portfolio is designed to serve demand for care delivered outside traditional hospitals.