Welltower Inc. $WELL Stock Position Lowered by ING Groep NV

Key Points

• ING Groep NV cut its Welltower stake by 85.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 32,466 shares and leaving it with 5,346 shares worth about $992,000.
• Despite that sale, institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other investors holding 94.8% of Welltower’s stock. Several other firms increased their positions significantly during the quarter.
• Analysts remain bullish on Welltower, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $231.60. The company also beat quarterly earnings estimates and recently paid a $0.74 per share dividend.

ING Groep NV lessened its position in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL - Free Report) by 85.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,346 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 32,466 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV's holdings in Welltower were worth $992,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Welltower by 153.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 10,744,520 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,994,290,000 after acquiring an additional 6,497,258 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Sarl lifted its position in shares of Welltower by 209.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 150,674 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $27,967,000 after acquiring an additional 101,947 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,510,000. Capital International Inc. CA increased its stake in Welltower by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 744,277 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $138,145,000 after buying an additional 60,176 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its stake in Welltower by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 47,431,769 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $8,805,411,000 after buying an additional 915,514 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WELL has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Welltower from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped 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. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Welltower from $236.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Welltower from $228.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Welltower from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $231.60.

Welltower Stock Up 2.4%

Welltower stock opened at $211.70 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $209.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $201.13. Welltower Inc. has a twelve month low of $148.70 and a twelve month high of $221.68. The firm has a market cap of $149.44 billion, a PE ratio of 104.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a current ratio of 4.31.

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

Welltower Dividend Announcement

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

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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