Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 2,643,088 Shares of Welltower Inc. $WELL

Key Points

• Vanguard increased its stake in Welltower by 2.9% in Q4, buying 2,643,088 shares to hold 92,421,471 shares—about 13.47% of the company valued at roughly $17.15 billion.
• Welltower slightly beat Q1 EPS expectations and reported revenue up 41.3% year‑over‑year, set FY2026 guidance of 6.09–6.25 EPS, and carries a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $225.43.
• Governance pressure from activist Land & Buildings and a bearish short report have increased near‑term downside risk, even as Welltower monetized assets (≈$57M ground‑lease sale) and secured a $150M commitment to its senior housing debt fund.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 92,421,471 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 2,643,088 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 13.47% of Welltower worth $17,154,349,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Welltower by 4.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,842,934 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Welltower by 4.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,637,665 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Welltower by 1.9% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 19,378,590 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,452,102,000 after purchasing an additional 367,463 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 282,881 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Welltower by 2.9% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,408,170 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,319,645,000 after purchasing an additional 210,564 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on WELL. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Welltower from $218.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Citigroup raised their price target on Welltower from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings lowered Welltower from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Welltower from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Welltower from $216.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.43.

Welltower Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of WELL stock opened at $209.19 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 149.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.83. Welltower Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.65 and a twelve month high of $216.43. The company has a quick ratio of 3.46, a current ratio of 3.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $205.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.59.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 2.46% and a net margin of 8.64%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 41.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. Welltower has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.090-6.25 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 6.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. Welltower's payout ratio is 211.43%.

Key Welltower News

Here are the key news stories impacting Welltower this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Welltower’s relative strength (RS) rating jumped to 84, highlighting recent outperformance and technical momentum that can attract momentum and institutional buyers. Welltower shows market leadership with jump to 84 RS rating
• Positive Sentiment: Welltower sold medical ground leases in the Chicagoland area to Endeavor Health for ~$57M, a tidy divestment that boosts liquidity and demonstrates monetization of non-core or mature assets. Welltower fetches $57M in medical ground lease sales to Endeavor Health
• Positive Sentiment: Tennessee Consolidated committed $150M to Welltower’s senior housing debt fund, providing capital validation for Welltower’s lending/credit strategy and potentially supporting fee income and balance-sheet flexibility. Tennessee Consolidated commits $150m to Welltower senior housing debt fund
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and preview pieces are focusing on Q1 results, key operating metrics (same-store rent, occupancy, fee revenue) and guidance — upcoming earnings will be the next major catalyst. Welltower Gears Up to Report Q1 Earnings: What's in the Cards?
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks’ Q1 preview drills into metrics beyond EPS/revenue that investors should watch — useful for discerning whether growth/margin trends support consensus FY26 EPS (~6.24). Countdown to Welltower (WELL) Q1 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Activist investor Land & Buildings published a white paper criticizing a proposed 10-year executive incentive/compensation plan as overly management-friendly, raising governance and dilution concerns that pressured the stock. Land & Buildings Criticizes Welltower (WELL) Executive Pay Plan in White Paper
• Negative Sentiment: Short-seller/activist Jonathan Litt released a bearish short report and public short position, arguing valuation downside (claims up to a 60% drop), amplifying volatility and investor concern. Activist investor Jonathan Litt shorts Welltower, sees stock falling 60%
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: coverage noted WELL trading lower after the Land & Buildings report; multiple industry outlets reiterated governance concerns — this increases short-term downside risk until governance questions are resolved or management responds. Welltower trades lower after Land & Buildings issues cautious report

Welltower Company 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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