Debra A. Cafaro Sells 6,004 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Stock

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 6,004 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.11, for a total transaction of $396,924.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,231,860.87. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Ventas Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:VTR opened at $66.05 on Wednesday. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $40.98 and a twelve month high of $66.34. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $63.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.02. The company has a market cap of $27.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -165.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.74). Ventas had a negative net margin of 3.33% and a negative return on equity of 1.63%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -449.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on VTR. Scotiabank increased their target price on Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Wolfe Research upgraded Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.63.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Ventas by 54.3% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,680 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $987,000 after purchasing an additional 7,979 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 21.9% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,163 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 1,108 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ventas in the first quarter valued at about $87,000. Naviter Wealth LLC increased its position in Ventas by 3.7% during the first quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 27,762 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 998 shares during the period. Finally, Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ventas in the 1st quarter worth about $257,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Ventas

Ventas Inc (NYSE: VTR) is a leading S&P 500 real estate investment trust focused on delivering strong, sustainable shareholder returns by enabling exceptional environments that benefit a large and growing aging population. The Company's growth is fueled by its senior housing communities, which provide valuable services to residents and enable them to thrive in supported environments.