Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Raises Stake in Welltower Inc. $WELL

Key Points

• Swiss Life Asset Management increased its Welltower stake by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 13,254 additional shares and ending with 138,267 shares valued at about $25.7 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very heavy, with 94.8% of Welltower shares held by hedge funds and other large investors. Several major firms, including Vanguard, Capital International Investors, and State Street, also added to their positions.
• Welltower has received mostly positive analyst attention, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $228.53. The company also recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates and raised its FY2026 guidance.

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 138,267 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 13,254 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Welltower were worth $25,664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Welltower by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 92,421,471 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $17,154,349,000 after purchasing an additional 2,643,088 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $8,285,296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,842,934 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $7,348,979,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637,665 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Welltower by 1.9% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 19,378,590 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,452,102,000 after purchasing an additional 367,463 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Welltower by 3.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,106,068 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,622,155,000 after acquiring an additional 282,881 shares during the period. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Welltower from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Welltower from $240.00 to $249.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Welltower from $204.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Welltower from $214.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Welltower from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $228.53.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of Welltower stock opened at $214.52 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $151.43 billion, a PE ratio of 106.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a current ratio of 4.31. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $206.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $197.48. Welltower Inc. has a one year low of $142.65 and a one year high of $219.59.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 3.45%. The firm's revenue was up 38.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. Welltower has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.210-6.350 EPS. Research analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 6.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Welltower's payout ratio is currently 146.53%.

About Welltower

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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