QRG Capital Management Inc. Purchases 5,711 Shares of Welltower Inc. $WELL

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management increased its Welltower position by 7.1% in the second quarter, buying 5,711 additional shares for a total of 86,615 shares valued at approximately $19.7 million.
• Institutional ownership remains substantial at 94.8%, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $252.33, above the reported share price of $229.85.
• Welltower raised its quarterly dividend to $0.85 per share, or $3.40 annually, although its 1.5% yield and 155.96% payout ratio indicate a high distribution relative to reported earnings.

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 7.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 86,615 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 5,711 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Welltower were worth $19,659,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Welltower by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,345,022 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,649,844,000 after acquiring an additional 57,938 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Welltower by 9.9% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,014,200 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $398,227,000 after acquiring an additional 181,400 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 331.4% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,122,894 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $222,007,000 after acquiring an additional 862,586 shares in the last quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 184.9% during the fourth quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 92,403 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $17,151,000 after acquiring an additional 59,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its position in shares of Welltower by 26.6% during the first quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 43,932 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,686,000 after purchasing an additional 9,217 shares during the period. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WELL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Welltower from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Welltower from $215.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Welltower in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $275.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $244.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $256.00 target price on shares of Welltower in a report on Monday. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $252.33.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WELL opened at $229.85 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 3.16, a quick ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $237.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $221.10. Welltower Inc. has a 1-year low of $163.75 and a 1-year high of $255.20. The stock has a market cap of $165.67 billion, a PE ratio of 105.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 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). The firm had revenue of $3.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.40 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.56% and a net margin of 12.15%.The business's revenue was up 39.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. Welltower has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.360-6.440 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 6.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. 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 currently 155.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Andrew Gundlach bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $242.06 per share, with a total value of $1,210,300.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 30,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,261,800. This represents a 20.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Purchased indirectly through two trusts. The transaction was executed in multiple trades at prices ranging from $241.59 to $242.59. The reported $242.06 price is the weighted-average purchase price. Company insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Welltower Profile

Welltower Inc is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, operates and finances healthcare-related real estate. The company focuses on properties that support healthcare delivery and services, including senior housing communities, outpatient medical facilities and post-acute care properties.

Welltower partners with healthcare providers, senior housing operators and other service providers to develop and manage facilities designed to serve aging populations and patients requiring ongoing or specialized care.

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