Banco Santander S.A. Acquires 60,703 Shares of Welltower Inc. $WELL

Banco Santander S.A. increased its holdings in Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 58.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 165,390 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 60,703 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Welltower were worth $30,698,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Welltower by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 92,421,471 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $17,154,349,000 after buying an additional 2,643,088 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Welltower by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 47,431,769 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,805,411,000 after buying an additional 915,514 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Welltower by 4.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 41,253,954 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,348,979,000 after buying an additional 1,637,665 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Welltower during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,466,264,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Welltower by 1.9% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 19,378,590 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,452,102,000 after buying an additional 367,463 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Welltower Price Performance

Welltower stock opened at $213.96 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $209.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $201.30. Welltower Inc. has a 1 year low of $148.97 and a 1 year high of $221.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 105.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 4.31 and a current ratio of 4.31.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.34. Welltower had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 3.45%. The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 38.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Welltower has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.210-6.350 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Welltower Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Welltower Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a $0.74 dividend. 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WELL has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of Welltower in a research report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Welltower from $240.00 to $249.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Welltower from $236.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Mizuho set a $239.00 price target on shares of Welltower in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Welltower from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.60.

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.