Insider Selling: Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) CEO Sells $601,624.40 in Stock

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 9,110 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.04, for a total transaction of $601,624.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,661,697.80. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Ventas Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Ventas stock opened at $66.09 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $28.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 347.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.66 and a 52-week high of $71.36. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.97.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.02. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. Ventas’s revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 581.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VTR. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com lowered Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Argus set a $75.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ventas

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its holdings in Ventas by 23.1% in the first quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 276,089 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $18,984,000 after acquiring an additional 51,814 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Ventas by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 555,525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $38,198,000 after purchasing an additional 54,164 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 5.3% in the first quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,960 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Carrera Capital Advisors acquired a new position in Ventas during the 1st quarter worth $4,374,000. Finally, Texas Yale Capital Corp. grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 6.6% in the first quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 20,821 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.