Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Increases Stake in Welltower Inc. $WELL

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,609,690 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 105,658 shares during the quarter. Welltower accounts for approximately 5.5% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Welltower were worth $484,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Welltower by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,185 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Welltower by 31.7% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,790 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,266,000 after buying an additional 3,564 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Welltower by 7.1% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,910 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Welltower by 7.3% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 10,871 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,671,000 after buying an additional 735 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Welltower by 27.0% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,435 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,912,000 after buying an additional 2,641 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on WELL shares. Citigroup increased their price target on Welltower from $215.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Welltower from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Welltower from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Welltower from $207.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Welltower from $204.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.43.

Welltower Stock Up 1.4%

WELL stock opened at $214.30 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $205.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $193.16. The company has a market cap of $150.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 153.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 3.46 and a current ratio of 3.46. Welltower Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $141.55 and a fifty-two week high of $216.43.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.45 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. Welltower had a return on equity of 2.46% and a net margin of 8.64%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 41.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. Welltower has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.090-6.25 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th 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, February 25th. Welltower’s payout ratio is 211.43%.

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.