Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 29,565 Shares of Welltower Inc. $WELL

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 501,172 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 29,565 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Welltower were worth $113,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Leonteq Securities AG boosted its holdings in Welltower by 92.3% in the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 125 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Welltower by 124.6% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 137 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new position in Welltower during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Welltower in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Trading Down 0.9%

Welltower stock opened at $237.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 3.16 and a current ratio of 3.16. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $235.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $217.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.18 billion, a PE ratio of 108.95, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.76. Welltower Inc. has a 52 week low of $163.75 and a 52 week high of $255.20.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.05). Welltower had a return on equity of 3.56% and a net margin of 12.15%.The business had revenue of $3.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. Welltower’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.1% on a year-over-year basis. Welltower has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.360-6.440 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Welltower Inc. will post 6.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were given a $0.85 dividend. This is a positive change from Welltower’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 12th. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 155.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Welltower from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Welltower in a report on Monday, May 4th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Welltower in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $226.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Welltower from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $228.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $246.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Welltower

In related news, Director Andrew Gundlach acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $239.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,197,350.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 25,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,986,750. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

About Welltower

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.