KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys 20,700 Shares of Welltower Inc. $WELL

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in Welltower Inc. by 9.7%, acquiring an additional 20,700 shares and bringing its total holdings to 233,846 shares, valued at approximately $35.9 million.
• Welltower recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.67 to $0.74, representing an annualized payout of $2.96 with a yield of 1.7%.
• Analyst ratings for Welltower are optimistic, with a consensus average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a price target of $180.69, supported by multiple upgrades from various equities research analysts.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 9.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 233,846 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 20,700 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Welltower were worth $35,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SouthState Corp raised its stake in shares of Welltower by 704.8% during the 1st quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 169 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Welltower in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Welltower in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Welltower in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Welltower in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Scotiabank increased their price target on Welltower from $181.00 to $182.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Welltower from $175.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on Welltower in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $195.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Welltower has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $180.69.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of WELL opened at $173.00 on Wednesday. Welltower Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.34 and a 1 year high of $180.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 4.19 and a quick ratio of 4.19. The company has a market capitalization of $115.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 97.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50-day moving average of $168.51 and a 200-day moving average of $157.06.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.06. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.38% and a net margin of 12.18%.The company had revenue of $2.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.05 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 39.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Welltower has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.060-5.14 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. This is an increase from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Welltower's dividend payout ratio is presently 167.23%.

About Welltower

Welltower Inc NYSE: WELL, a real estate investment trust ("REIT") and S&P 500 company headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, is driving the transformation of health care infrastructure. Welltower invests with leading seniors housing operators, post-acute providers and health systems to fund the real estate infrastructure needed to scale innovative care delivery models and improve people's wellness and overall health care experience.

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