142,905 Shares in Welltower Inc. $WELL Purchased by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 142,905 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $32,435,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WELL. Leonteq Securities AG lifted its position in shares of Welltower by 92.3% during the 1st quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 125 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in Welltower during the second quarter worth $29,000. Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new stake in Welltower during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Welltower in the third quarter valued at $33,000. 94.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Welltower

In other Welltower news, Director Andrew Gundlach bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,986,750. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Welltower Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WELL opened at $239.42 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $172.56 billion, a PE ratio of 109.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.76. Welltower Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.75 and a 12 month high of $255.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 3.16 and a quick ratio of 3.16. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $234.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $217.45.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.66 by ($0.05). Welltower had a net margin of 12.15% and a return on equity of 3.56%. The firm had revenue of $3.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 39.1% on a year-over-year basis. Welltower has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.360-6.440 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a positive change from Welltower’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 12th. Welltower’s payout ratio is 155.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WELL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Welltower from $237.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Welltower in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Welltower from $228.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Welltower from $249.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Welltower from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $246.11.

Welltower 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.