Norges Bank Purchases New Stake in Welltower Inc. $WELL

Key Points

• Norges Bank bought a new stake in Welltower during the fourth quarter, acquiring 29.45 million shares valued at about $5.47 billion. The position represented 0.6% of Norges Bank’s portfolio and made WELL its 21st largest holding.
• Institutional investors remain heavily involved in the stock, with several firms including Vanguard, Capital World Investors, and Geode Capital Management increasing their holdings. Overall, institutions own 94.8% of Welltower shares.
• Welltower reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting $1.02 EPS versus estimates of $0.68 and revenue of $3.35 billion, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $231.

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 29,450,268 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $5,466,264,000. Welltower comprises 0.6% of Norges Bank's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Norges Bank owned 4.29% of Welltower at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WELL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Welltower by 4.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,991,896 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Welltower by 167.2% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,247,262 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $756,607,000 after buying an additional 2,657,766 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Welltower by 4.1% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 46,516,255 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,285,296,000 after buying an additional 1,842,934 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Welltower by 4.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 41,253,954 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,348,979,000 after buying an additional 1,637,665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Welltower by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,007,371 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,155,047,000 after buying an additional 774,692 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WELL. Mizuho set a $239.00 target price on Welltower in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Welltower from $204.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Welltower from $218.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Welltower from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Welltower from $240.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $231.00.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of WELL opened at $206.11 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $145.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 4.31, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $208.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $200.65. Welltower Inc. has a 1 year low of $148.60 and a 1 year high of $221.68.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.45% and a net margin of 11.96%.Welltower's revenue was up 38.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. Welltower has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.210-6.350 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Welltower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 146.53%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WELL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.