Welltower Inc. $WELL Stake Lowered by WestEnd Advisors LLC

Key Points

• WestEnd Advisors LLC trimmed its Welltower stake by 3.7% in Q4, selling 4,978 shares and ending the quarter with 130,631 shares worth $24.25 million, while institutional investors now own about 94.8% of the stock.
• Several brokers raised price targets (Wells Fargo to $228, Cantor Fitzgerald to $230, UBS $240, Mizuho $231) and MarketBeat shows an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $225.43.
• Welltower slightly beat Q4 EPS and revenue estimates, issued FY2026 EPS guidance of 6.090–6.25, and pays a $0.74 quarterly dividend (annualized $2.96, 1.4% yield) despite a high reported payout ratio of 211%.

WestEnd Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 130,631 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 4,978 shares during the quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC's holdings in Welltower were worth $24,247,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hager Investment Management Services LLC grew its holdings in Welltower by 84.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC now owns 142 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Welltower by 62.8% in the 4th quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 153 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new position in Welltower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Welltower in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, MMA Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Welltower in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WELL. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Welltower from $218.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Welltower from $204.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group set a $240.00 price objective on Welltower in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered Welltower from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Welltower from $216.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.43.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WELL opened at $210.23 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $205.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $193.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a current ratio of 3.46. The firm has a market cap of $148.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 150.17, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.83. Welltower Inc. has a 1 year low of $141.55 and a 1 year high of $216.43.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 41.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. Welltower has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.090-6.25 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

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

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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