Swiss National Bank Sells 52,300 Shares of Welltower Inc. $WELL

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank trimmed its Welltower stake by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 52,300 shares and leaving it with 1,832,800 shares valued at about $340.2 million.
• Analysts remain constructive on WELL, with several firms raising price targets; the stock now carries a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.60.
• Welltower posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and recently paid a $0.74 quarterly dividend, equal to a 1.4% annualized yield.

Swiss National Bank lowered its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,832,800 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 52,300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.27% of Welltower worth $340,186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,185 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $527,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 31.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,790 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,266,000 after acquiring an additional 3,564 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 7.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Welltower by 7.3% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,871 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,671,000 after acquiring an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $1,912,000 after acquiring an additional 2,641 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WELL. KeyCorp raised their price target on Welltower from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Citigroup raised their price target on Welltower from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Welltower from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Welltower from $237.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Welltower from $204.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $231.60.

Welltower Stock Performance

WELL stock opened at $211.15 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $209.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $201.21. Welltower Inc. has a 12-month low of $148.97 and a 12-month high of $221.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.05 billion, a PE ratio of 104.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 4.31, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Welltower had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 3.45%. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 38.3% on a year-over-year basis. Welltower has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.210-6.350 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

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

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