First Trust Advisors LP Increases Position in Welltower Inc. $WELL

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 431,978 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,854 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Welltower were worth $85,406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Saturna Capital Corp grew its position in shares of Welltower by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Saturna Capital Corp now owns 7,205 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,424,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Phillip James Consulting Co. purchased a new position in Welltower in the first quarter worth $73,000. CacheTech Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Welltower during the first quarter worth $204,000. Meiji Yasuda America Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Welltower by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. Meiji Yasuda America Inc now owns 33,755 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,674,000 after purchasing an additional 3,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab boosted its position in shares of Welltower by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 126,427 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $24,996,000 after purchasing an additional 12,287 shares in the last quarter. 94.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Welltower Price Performance

NYSE:WELL opened at $252.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 4.31 and a quick ratio of 4.31. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $221.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $208.84. Welltower Inc. has a 1-year low of $158.24 and a 1-year high of $252.94. The firm has a market cap of $178.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 125.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.77.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.20 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.3% on a year-over-year basis. Welltower has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.210-6.350 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 6.32 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is 146.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WELL shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Welltower in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $254.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Welltower in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $226.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $238.00 price target on shares of Welltower in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Welltower from $249.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.89.

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.