Bard Associates Inc. Cuts Stake in Welltower Inc. $WELL

Key Points

• Bard Associates cut its stake in Welltower by 66.3% in Q3, selling 9,409 shares and retaining 4,785 shares valued at about $852,000.
• Large institutions (Vanguard, Capital World Investors, Capital International, State Street and Norges Bank) have been adding or establishing sizable positions, leaving about 94.8% institutional ownership, and analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $224.71.
• Welltower beat quarterly EPS estimates and reported revenue up 41.3% YoY, set FY2026 guidance of 6.09–6.25 EPS, but trades at a high P/E (~148.5) and pays a $0.74 quarterly dividend (yield 1.4%) with a payout ratio above 200%.

Bard Associates Inc. lessened its stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 66.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,785 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 9,409 shares during the quarter. Bard Associates Inc.'s holdings in Welltower were worth $852,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Welltower in the 2nd quarter worth $4,903,554,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Welltower by 4.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 89,778,383 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $15,993,121,000 after buying an additional 3,991,896 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Welltower by 167.2% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,247,262 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $756,607,000 after buying an additional 2,657,766 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Welltower by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 46,516,255 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,285,296,000 after acquiring an additional 1,842,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Welltower by 4.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 39,616,289 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $6,090,212,000 after purchasing an additional 1,740,196 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WELL shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Welltower from $214.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Welltower from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Welltower from $204.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Welltower in a report on Thursday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $224.71.

Welltower Price Performance

WELL opened at $207.88 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $197.25 and a 200 day moving average of $187.52. Welltower Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.29 and a 52-week high of $216.43. The company has a quick ratio of 3.46, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $145.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 148.48, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.82.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.01. Welltower had a return on equity of 2.46% and a net margin of 8.64%.The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 41.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Welltower has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.090-6.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. Welltower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 211.43%.

About Welltower

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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