Welltower Inc. $WELL Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors reduced its Welltower stake by 5.4% in the second quarter, selling 5,420 shares and retaining 95,382 shares valued at approximately $21.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.8% of the REIT.
• Welltower shares opened at $237.30, near their 52-week high, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $251.06. Several firms recently raised their targets to between $260 and $275.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.85 per share, or $3.40 annually, representing a 1.4% yield. Its latest quarterly revenue rose 39.1% year over year to $3.54 billion, although earnings per share of $0.61 missed analyst estimates.

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 5.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 95,382 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 5,420 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Welltower were worth $21,649,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Welltower by 0.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,345,022 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,649,844,000 after acquiring an additional 57,938 shares during the period. Easterly Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Welltower by 184.9% during the fourth quarter. Easterly Investment Partners LLC now owns 92,403 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $17,151,000 after buying an additional 59,967 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in Welltower by 9.9% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,014,200 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $398,227,000 after buying an additional 181,400 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Welltower by 331.4% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,122,894 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $222,007,000 after acquiring an additional 862,586 shares during the period. Finally, Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of Welltower by 26.6% during the 1st quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 43,932 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $8,686,000 after acquiring an additional 9,217 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Welltower Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE WELL opened at $237.30 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.16, a current ratio of 3.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.03 billion, a PE ratio of 108.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $237.74 and a 200-day moving average of $219.17. Welltower Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.75 and a 52-week high of $255.20.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 3.56%. Welltower's revenue was up 39.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. Welltower has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.360-6.440 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 6.43 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is an increase from Welltower's previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. Welltower's payout ratio is presently 155.96%.

Insider Activity

In other Welltower news, Director Andrew Gundlach acquired 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $239.47 per share, with a total value of $1,197,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 25,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,986,750. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WELL shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Welltower from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Welltower from $237.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Welltower in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $226.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Welltower from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Welltower from $238.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Welltower has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $251.06.

Welltower Profile

Welltower Inc is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, operates and finances healthcare-related real estate. The company focuses on properties that support healthcare delivery and services, including senior housing communities, outpatient medical facilities and post-acute care properties.

Welltower partners with healthcare providers, senior housing operators and other service providers to develop and manage facilities designed to serve aging populations and patients requiring ongoing or specialized care.

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