Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. Sells 57,715 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. decreased its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 26.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 158,676 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 57,715 shares during the quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $10,910,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VTR. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ventas by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,501,010 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,916,244,000 after acquiring an additional 912,813 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ventas by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,948,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $643,207,000 after purchasing an additional 537,253 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Ventas by 60.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,207,553 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $365,563,000 after buying an additional 2,347,705 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,133,172 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $361,184,000 after buying an additional 335,192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,104,450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $359,487,000 after acquiring an additional 138,803 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE VTR opened at $62.67 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.48 and a 52-week high of $71.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The business has a fifty day moving average of $65.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.87. The stock has a market cap of $28.28 billion, a PE ratio of 189.90, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.89.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 2.80% and a return on equity of 1.36%. Ventas’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Ventas’s payout ratio is currently 581.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VTR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Argus set a $75.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ventas currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Insider Activity

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 44,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.06, for a total value of $3,165,794.06. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,145,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,413,086.70. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.23, for a total value of $1,509,405.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 116,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,429.50. This trade represents a 16.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 165,586 shares of company stock valued at $10,997,929 over the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.