Welltower Inc. $WELL Stock Position Lifted by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Welltower Inc. (NYSE:WELL) by 10.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,861 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,575 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Welltower were worth $4,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SouthState Corp raised its position in shares of Welltower by 704.8% during the 1st quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 169 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Welltower in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Welltower in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Welltower during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Welltower during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 94.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WELL shares. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Welltower in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Welltower from $175.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Welltower in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Welltower from $181.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Welltower in a research report on Friday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.69.

Welltower Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:WELL opened at $174.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $168.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.95. Welltower Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.34 and a 52 week high of $180.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 4.19 and a current ratio of 4.19. The company has a market cap of $116.46 billion, a PE ratio of 98.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.92.

Welltower (NYSE:WELL) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.49 billion. Welltower had a net margin of 12.18% and a return on equity of 3.38%. The company’s revenue was up 39.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.05 EPS. Welltower has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.060-5.14 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Welltower Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Welltower Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 12th. This is a boost from Welltower’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Welltower’s dividend payout ratio is 167.23%.

About Welltower

Welltower Inc (NYSE:WELL), a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) and S&P 500 company headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, is driving the transformation of health care infrastructure. Welltower invests with leading seniors housing operators, post-acute providers and health systems to fund the real estate infrastructure needed to scale innovative care delivery models and improve people’s wellness and overall health care experience.