Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Grows Stock Holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 221.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 138,654 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 95,559 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Welltower were worth $14,455,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Welltower by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 33,188 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,993,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in Welltower during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $162,000. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Welltower by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 47,833 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,313,000 after buying an additional 8,431 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in Welltower by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 30,760 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,774,000 after buying an additional 4,003 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in Welltower by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 13,798 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,239,000 after acquiring an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WELL opened at $128.60 on Tuesday. Welltower Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.38 and a twelve month high of $131.31. The company has a current ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 4.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $76.89 billion, a PE ratio of 158.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50 day moving average is $118.00 and its 200 day moving average is $105.03.

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

Welltower Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This is a boost from Welltower’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 330.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WELL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Welltower from $103.00 to $107.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Welltower from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $106.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. KeyCorp increased their target price 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. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Welltower currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.38.

About Welltower

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.