Rafferty Asset Management LLC Trims Stake in Welltower Inc. $WELL

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 14.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 66,426 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 11,417 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Welltower were worth $10,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SouthState Corp increased its stake in Welltower by 704.8% in the 1st quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 169 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Welltower during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Welltower during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Franchise Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Welltower in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Price Performance

WELL stock opened at $167.95 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $112.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $160.11 and its 200 day moving average is $152.83. Welltower Inc. has a 52 week low of $119.93 and a 52 week high of $171.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 4.19 and a current ratio of 4.19.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.06. Welltower had a net margin of 12.18% and a return on equity of 3.38%. The business had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. Welltower has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.060-5.14 EPS. Research analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Welltower’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is 167.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Andrew Gundlach purchased 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $151.46 per share, with a total value of $3,029,200.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,029,200. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on WELL. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Welltower from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Welltower from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Welltower in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Welltower from $162.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.10.

Welltower Company Profile

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.