Ancora Advisors LLC Invests $1.59 Million in Welltower Inc. $WELL

Key Points

• Ancora Advisors initiated a $1.59 million position in Welltower during the second quarter by purchasing 7,005 shares. Institutional investors collectively own 94.8% of the REIT.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with 14 Buy ratings and three Holds, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $246.11. Several firms recently raised their targets to between $260 and $275.
• Welltower raised its quarterly dividend to $0.85 per share, equivalent to a $3.40 annualized payout and a 1.4% yield. The stock opened at $239.42, below its $255.20 52-week high, while quarterly revenue rose 39.1% year over year despite an earnings miss.

Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,005 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,590,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings 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 worth $1,649,844,000 after purchasing an additional 57,938 shares during the period. Easterly Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Welltower by 184.9% in the 4th quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 92,403 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $17,151,000 after acquiring an additional 59,967 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Welltower by 331.4% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,122,894 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $222,007,000 after acquiring an additional 862,586 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 9.9% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,014,200 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $398,227,000 after acquiring an additional 181,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 26.6% in the first quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 43,932 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $8,686,000 after acquiring an additional 9,217 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WELL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Welltower from $215.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Welltower in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Welltower from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Welltower from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Welltower from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Welltower currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $246.11.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Andrew Gundlach bought 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $239.47 per share, with a total value of $1,197,350.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 25,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,986,750. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Welltower Price Performance

Welltower stock opened at $239.42 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.56 billion, a PE ratio of 109.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.76. Welltower Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.75 and a 52 week high of $255.20. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $234.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $217.45. The company has a quick ratio of 3.16, a current ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.05). Welltower had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 3.56%. The business had revenue of $3.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 39.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Welltower has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.360-6.440 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 6.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Welltower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 155.96%.

Welltower Profile

Welltower Inc NYSE: WELL is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires and manages real estate serving the health care industry. The company specializes in healthcare infrastructure, owning and operating a diversified portfolio of senior housing, post-acute and long-term care communities, and outpatient medical properties. Welltower's assets are designed to support the delivery of health care services through a combination of leased properties, joint ventures, and other capital arrangements with health care operators and providers.

The company's property types include assisted living, memory care, independent living and skilled nursing facilities, as well as medical office buildings and other outpatient-care real estate such as ambulatory surgery centers and specialty clinics.

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