Korea Investment CORP Invests $203.17 Million in Welltower Inc. $WELL

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP purchased 895,149 Welltower shares worth approximately $203.17 million in the second quarter, giving it a 0.12% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 94.8% of the REIT.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 14 Buy ratings and three Holds, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $246.11.
• Welltower raised its quarterly dividend to $0.85 per share, or $3.40 annually, for a 1.4% yield. Its latest revenue rose 39.1% year over year to $3.54 billion, though adjusted earnings of $0.61 per share missed estimates.

Korea Investment CORP bought a new stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 895,149 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $203,172,000. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.12% of Welltower at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Welltower by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,185 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Welltower by 31.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,790 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,266,000 after purchasing an additional 3,564 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Welltower by 7.1% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,910 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Welltower by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,871 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,671,000 after buying an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Welltower by 27.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,435 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,912,000 after purchasing an additional 2,641 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on WELL. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of Welltower in a research note on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $249.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Welltower from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Welltower from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Welltower from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $246.11.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of WELL stock opened at $239.95 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $232.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $215.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 3.16 and a current ratio of 3.16. Welltower Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.75 and a 52-week high of $255.20. The stock has a market cap of $172.94 billion, a PE ratio of 110.07, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.76.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.61 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 the consensus estimate of $3.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. The business's revenue was up 39.1% on a year-over-year basis. Welltower has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.360-6.440 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 6.44 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Welltower's dividend payout ratio 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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