Welltower Inc. $WELL Shares Bought by Arizona State Retirement System

Key Points

• Arizona State Retirement System increased its Welltower stake by 4% in the second quarter, adding 7,516 shares for a total of 195,494 shares valued at $44.4 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 94.8% of the company.
• Welltower reported quarterly revenue of $3.54 billion, up 39.1% year over year, but earnings per share of $0.61 missed analysts’ $0.66 estimate. The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.74 to $0.85, producing a 1.4% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive: 14 analysts rate the stock Buy and three rate it Hold, giving Welltower a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $251.06 price target versus its recent price of $237.30.

Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 195,494 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 7,516 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Welltower were worth $44,371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Leonteq Securities AG increased its stake in Welltower by 92.3% in the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 125 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 124.6% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 137 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Welltower during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Welltower during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Welltower Price Performance

Shares of WELL stock traded up $1.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $237.30. 2,800,779 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,200,819. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $237.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $218.97. Welltower Inc. has a 1-year low of $163.75 and a 1-year high of $255.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 3.16 and a quick ratio of 3.16. The firm has a market cap of $171.03 billion, a PE ratio of 108.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.76.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $3.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. Welltower has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.360-6.440 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 6.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were given a $0.85 dividend. This is an increase from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. Welltower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 155.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on WELL. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Welltower from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Welltower from $237.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Welltower in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Mizuho raised their price target on Welltower from $239.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Welltower from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $251.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Welltower

In other news, Director Andrew Gundlach purchased 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $239.47 per share, with a total value of $1,197,350.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 25,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,986,750. This represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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