California State Teachers Retirement System Purchases 243,046,172 Shares of Welltower Inc. $WELL

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System dramatically increased its Welltower position, purchasing 243.0 million additional shares in the second quarter and bringing its ownership to 244.1 million shares, or 33.87% of the REIT.
• Analysts remain broadly optimistic, with 14 Buy ratings and three Holds producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $251.06, above Welltower’s $236.07 opening price.
• Welltower reported quarterly revenue growth of 39.1% year over year but missed EPS expectations; it also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.85 per share, equivalent to a 1.4% annualized yield.

California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 23,475.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 244,081,495 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 243,046,172 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 33.87% of Welltower worth $55,399,177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Leonteq Securities AG grew its position in Welltower by 92.3% during the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 125 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of Welltower by 124.6% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 137 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Solstein Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Welltower during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Welltower during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WELL shares. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Welltower from $244.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Welltower from $254.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Welltower from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Welltower in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Mizuho lifted 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, July 22nd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $251.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Welltower

In related news, Director Andrew Gundlach acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $239.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,197,350.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 25,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,986,750. This represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Welltower Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:WELL opened at $236.07 on Monday. Welltower Inc. has a 1 year low of $163.75 and a 1 year high of $255.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 3.16 and a quick ratio of 3.16. The stock's 50-day moving average is $237.37 and its 200 day moving average is $218.82. The company has a market cap of $170.15 billion, a PE ratio of 108.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.76.

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 (EPS) 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 period last year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. Welltower's quarterly revenue was up 39.1% on a year-over-year basis. Welltower has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.360-6.440 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 6.43 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. 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. Welltower's payout ratio is presently 155.96%.

Welltower Company 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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