Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 19,343 Shares of Welltower Inc. $WELL

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its stake in Welltower by 10.9% in the first quarter, selling 19,343 shares and leaving it with 158,748 shares worth about $31.4 million.
• Welltower reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $1.02 EPS versus the $0.68 consensus and revenue of $3.35 billion, up 38.3% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the REIT, with 13 Buy ratings and 4 Hold ratings; the consensus target price is $235.89, while several firms recently raised their price targets.

Bank of Nova Scotia lowered its position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 10.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 158,748 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 19,343 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Welltower were worth $31,387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WELL. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Welltower in the fourth quarter worth $5,466,264,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its stake in Welltower by 955.3% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 9,513,540 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,765,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,612,016 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Welltower by 153.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,744,520 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,994,290,000 after buying an additional 6,497,258 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Welltower by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 92,421,471 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $17,154,349,000 after buying an additional 2,643,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Welltower by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 16,826,035 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,123,082,000 after buying an additional 1,734,922 shares during the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Welltower Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of Welltower stock opened at $252.50 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $221.76 and a 200 day moving average of $208.84. The company has a market capitalization of $178.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 125.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.77. Welltower Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $158.24 and a fifty-two week high of $252.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a current ratio of 4.31.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.34. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.45% and a net margin of 11.96%.The company had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 38.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Welltower has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.210-6.350 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. Welltower's payout ratio is currently 146.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WELL shares. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $239.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Welltower in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $226.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Welltower from $249.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Welltower from $228.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Welltower from $215.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Welltower currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.89.

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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