Scotia Capital Inc. Takes $1.35 Million Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Scotia Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 8,822 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,352,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Welltower in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Welltower in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Welltower in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Franchise Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Welltower during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Welltower during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WELL has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wedbush reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Welltower in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Welltower from $158.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Welltower currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.82.

Welltower Stock Performance

NYSE WELL opened at $168.96 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $149.89. 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 stock has a market cap of $113.01 billion, a PE ratio of 95.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.93. Welltower Inc. has a twelve month low of $114.37 and a twelve month high of $171.09.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.55 billion during 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. This is a boost from Welltower’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 12th. Welltower’s payout ratio is currently 151.41%.

Insider Transactions at Welltower

In other Welltower news, Director Andrew Gundlach acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $151.46 per share, with a total value of $3,029,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 20,000 shares in the company, valued at $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 can be accessed through this link. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.