BNP Paribas Financial Markets Buys 287,921 Shares of Welltower Inc. $WELL

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 36.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,081,882 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 287,921 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.16% of Welltower worth $200,808,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hager Investment Management Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Welltower by 84.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC now owns 142 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Welltower by 62.8% in the 4th quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 153 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Welltower in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Financial Consulate Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Welltower in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, MMA Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Welltower in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WELL. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Welltower from $218.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Welltower in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Welltower from $204.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Welltower from $237.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Welltower from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Welltower presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.00.

Welltower Stock Performance

NYSE:WELL opened at $206.11 on Friday. Welltower Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.60 and a 52-week high of $221.68. The business’s fifty day moving average is $208.54 and its 200 day moving average is $200.65. 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 firm has a market cap of $145.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.03, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.83.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.34. Welltower had a return on equity of 3.45% and a net margin of 11.96%.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 earned $1.20 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 38.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Welltower has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.210-6.350 EPS. Research analysts predict that Welltower Inc. will post 6.32 EPS for the current year.

Welltower Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 146.53%.

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.