Avanza Fonder AB Reduces Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Avanza Fonder AB lessened its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 6.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,503 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,927 shares during the quarter. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in Ventas were worth $2,741,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franchise Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Ventas in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Ventas by 53.9% in the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 811 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ventas Price Performance

VTR opened at $63.46 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.64 billion, a PE ratio of 334.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s 50-day moving average is $65.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.91. Ventas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.33 and a 1 year high of $71.36.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 581.82%.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 17,374 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.22, for a total transaction of $1,133,132.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 168,364 shares in the company, valued at $10,980,700.08. This trade represents a 9.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 44,551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.06, for a total transaction of $3,165,794.06. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,145,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,413,086.70. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 165,586 shares of company stock worth $10,997,929 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on VTR shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Argus set a $75.00 price target on Ventas in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

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.