Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Makes New $225,000 Investment in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,754 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 26.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 29,236,326 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,731,842,000 after purchasing an additional 6,104,064 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower during the 1st quarter valued at $309,917,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 89,187,884 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,333,716,000 after purchasing an additional 3,257,213 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower during the 2nd quarter valued at $254,977,000. Finally, Centersquare Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 5,329,248 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $507,771,000 after purchasing an additional 849,898 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of WELL opened at $125.18 on Monday. Welltower Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $80.80 and a fifty-two week high of $131.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 4.07 and a current ratio of 4.07. The company has a market capitalization of $74.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 154.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50-day moving average is $122.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.37.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.08. Welltower had a return on equity of 2.21% and a net margin of 8.36%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This is a boost from Welltower’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 330.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WELL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Welltower to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (up from $134.00) on shares of Welltower in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Welltower from $115.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Scotiabank upped their target price on Welltower from $121.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on Welltower from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.38.

Welltower Company 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.