Welltower Inc. $WELL Shares Bought by Easterly Investment Partners LLC

Key Points

• Easterly Investment Partners LLC boosted its Welltower stake by 184.9% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 59,967 shares and bringing its total to 92,403 shares worth about $17.15 million.
• Welltower reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $1.02 per share beating estimates and revenue of $3.35 billion topping forecasts; revenue also rose 38.3% year over year.
• Analysts remain generally bullish on the stock, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $231, while several firms recently raised their targets.

Easterly Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 184.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 92,403 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 59,967 shares during the quarter. Welltower comprises approximately 1.1% of Easterly Investment Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Easterly Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Welltower were worth $17,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,781,000. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Welltower by 4.3% during the third quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 97,366 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $17,345,000 after acquiring an additional 4,019 shares during the period. Benchmark Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Welltower during the third quarter valued at approximately $901,000. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its stake in shares of Welltower by 149.2% during the third quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 169,297 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $29,830,000 after acquiring an additional 101,355 shares during the period. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Welltower by 3,192.6% during the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 47,380 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $8,440,000 after acquiring an additional 45,941 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Welltower Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:WELL opened at $206.11 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.03, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.79. Welltower Inc. has a 1-year low of $148.60 and a 1-year high of $221.68. 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 moving average price of $208.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $200.71.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.12 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 3.45%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 38.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.20 earnings per share. Welltower has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.210-6.350 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 6.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. Welltower's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 146.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on WELL shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Welltower from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Welltower from $237.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Welltower from $204.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Welltower from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Welltower from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Welltower currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $231.00.

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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