PGGM Investments Reduces Stock Holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

PGGM Investments cut its holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,328,566 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 89,941 shares during the period. Welltower comprises approximately 3.5% of PGGM Investments’ portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. PGGM Investments owned about 0.39% of Welltower worth $242,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Welltower by 3.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 89,187,884 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,333,716,000 after acquiring an additional 3,257,213 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Welltower by 26.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 29,236,326 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,731,842,000 after purchasing an additional 6,104,064 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Welltower in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,453,039,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Welltower by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,012,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,173,337,000 after purchasing an additional 87,106 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in Welltower by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 7,986,481 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $720,141,000 after buying an additional 99,314 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Welltower Price Performance

Welltower stock traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $117.48. 2,340,406 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,686,647. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $107.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $98.56. Welltower Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.38 and a 52-week high of $118.63. The company has a market cap of $70.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 145.04, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 3.83 and a current ratio of 4.07.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.89 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 8.36% and a return on equity of 2.21%. Welltower’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. This is a positive change from Welltower’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Welltower’s payout ratio is 330.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WELL has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Welltower from $103.00 to $107.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Welltower from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Welltower from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Welltower presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.19.

Insider Transactions at Welltower

In other Welltower news, Director Kenneth J. Bacon sold 1,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.91, for a total value of $187,038.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,514,903.89. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Profile

Welltower Inc (NYSE:WELL), a 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 and infrastructure needed to scale innovative care delivery models and improve people's wellness and overall health care experience.