43,400 Welltower Inc. $WELL Shares Acquired by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems increased its Welltower stake by 15.6%, acquiring 43,400 shares to hold 321,367 shares worth approximately $74.0 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.8% of the stock.
• Welltower reported quarterly EPS of $1.67, ahead of the $1.64 consensus, while revenue rose 38.4% year over year to $3.72 billion. The company also raised its outlook following strong senior-housing growth.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $259.81; Welltower also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share, yielding approximately 1.5%.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 15.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 321,367 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 43,400 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al's holdings in Welltower were worth $73,992,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WELL. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of Welltower by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 78,049,214 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $17,714,830,000 after buying an additional 4,045,458 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Welltower by 1.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 42,138,810 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,564,246,000 after acquiring an additional 578,033 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Welltower by 6.6% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 21,750,501 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,300,291,000 after acquiring an additional 1,347,243 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Welltower by 2.2% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,814,621 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,227,642,000 after acquiring an additional 207,966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Welltower by 0.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,345,022 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,649,844,000 after acquiring an additional 57,938 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Welltower

In related news, Director Andrew Gundlach purchased 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $242.06 per share, for a total transaction of $1,210,300.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 30,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,261,800. This represents a 20.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Purchased indirectly through two trusts. The transaction was executed in multiple trades at prices ranging from $241.59 to $242.59. The reported $242.06 price is the weighted-average purchase price. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

More Welltower News

Here are the key news stories impacting Welltower this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Welltower lifted its outlook after reporting strong growth in senior housing, providing the clearest near-term catalyst for the stock. The update suggests improving occupancy, pricing, or operating trends could support future earnings and cash flow. Welltower stock lifts outlook after strong senior housing growth
• Positive Sentiment: Freedom Broker upgraded Welltower’s depositary receipt from “hold” to “buy,” adding to the positive analyst sentiment surrounding the company. Freedom Broker upgrades Welltower
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage following the third-quarter update highlighted the raised outlook and senior-housing momentum, helping support the view that Welltower can continue benefiting from favorable demographic trends. Welltower stock after Q3 outlook lift
• Neutral Sentiment: Potential Social Security reform could materially affect seniors’ disposable income and therefore demand for senior housing, but the timing and details remain uncertain. Social Security reform and Welltower demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Raymond James lowered its price target to $263 but maintained a favorable view, calling Welltower a strong large-cap option. Cantor Fitzgerald also trimmed its target to $258 while retaining an “overweight” rating. These reductions may reflect valuation discipline rather than a change in the long-term outlook. Raymond James lowers Welltower price target
• Negative Sentiment: One market report characterized the shares as falling after an earnings miss, which could weigh on sentiment; however, the broader earnings coverage and company outlook update point to stronger-than-expected operating momentum. Welltower shares after earnings

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on WELL shares. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Welltower from $259.00 to $246.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Welltower from $215.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on Welltower from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Freedom Broker raised Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $255.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Welltower from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $259.81.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of WELL stock opened at $234.43 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.16, a current ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.48, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $233.51 and a 200 day moving average of $218.24. Welltower Inc. has a 52 week low of $178.19 and a 52 week high of $255.20.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.64 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.61% and a net margin of 12.08%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 38.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.34 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 6.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is presently 147.19%.

About Welltower

Welltower Inc NYSE: WELL is a healthcare-focused real estate investment trust that owns, develops, and manages properties used to provide healthcare and related services. Its portfolio is centered on senior housing communities, outpatient medical facilities, and post-acute care properties, including assets operated by healthcare providers and senior living companies.

The company's senior housing investments support independent living, assisted living, and memory care services. Its outpatient medical properties accommodate physicians, clinics, and other healthcare providers, while its broader healthcare real estate portfolio is designed to serve demand for care delivered outside traditional hospitals.

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