Welltower Inc. $WELL Stake Lifted by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,307,319 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 586,323 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 1.06% of Welltower worth $1,356,311,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Glenview Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Welltower by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 3,900 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $724,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Elite Life Management LLC acquired a new position in Welltower in the 4th quarter valued at $221,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Welltower by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,277 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,165,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. First National Trust Co acquired a new stake in Welltower in the 4th quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new stake in Welltower in the 4th quarter worth $1,483,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Welltower Trading Up 0.1%

WELL stock opened at $216.31 on Monday. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $208.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $199.83. Welltower Inc. has a 52 week low of $147.49 and a 52 week high of $221.68. The company has a market capitalization of $152.70 billion, a PE ratio of 107.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.83.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 3.45%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. Welltower has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.210-6.350 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 6.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid 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 is presently 146.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho set a $239.00 price objective on shares of Welltower in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Welltower from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Welltower in a report on Monday, May 4th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Welltower from $236.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.