Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Sells 1,027 Shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL)

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 2.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,805 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,027 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Welltower were worth $4,150,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Foundation Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower during the second quarter worth $26,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Welltower in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Welltower during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Centerpoint Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Welltower during the second quarter worth about $31,000. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of WELL stock opened at $126.46 on Friday. Welltower Inc. has a 52 week low of $79.56 and a 52 week high of $131.31. The company has a market capitalization of $75.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 156.12, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $121.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 4.07 and a current ratio of 4.07.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 2.21% and a net margin of 8.36%. The business’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side 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 $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This is a boost from Welltower’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Welltower’s payout ratio is presently 330.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on WELL shares. Wolfe Research raised Welltower to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Welltower from $115.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Welltower from $101.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on Welltower from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Welltower presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.38.

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.