Sound Income Strategies LLC Increases Stock Position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 190.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 509 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Welltower were worth $48,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Welltower by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 85,930,671 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,748,369,000 after acquiring an additional 5,173,079 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Welltower during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,453,039,000. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Welltower by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 23,132,262 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,085,836,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,150 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $1,173,337,000 after acquiring an additional 87,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Welltower by 1.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 99,314 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on WELL shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Welltower from $96.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Welltower from $107.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Welltower in a research note on Monday, March 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $104.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Welltower from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.07.

Welltower Stock Performance

NYSE:WELL opened at $101.81 on Thursday. Welltower Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.90 and a twelve month high of $105.69. The stock has a market cap of $60.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 125.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 3.83, a current ratio of 3.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.75.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.72). Welltower had a net margin of 6.37% and a return on equity of 1.77%. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 4.12 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.61 per share. This represents a $2.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 301.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kenneth J. Bacon sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.91, for a total transaction of $187,038.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,579 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,514,903.89. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

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.