Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Shares Sold by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,377 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,966 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $4,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VTR. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Ventas by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 226,381 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,332,000 after purchasing an additional 11,767 shares during the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP increased its position in shares of Ventas by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 272,702 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $16,059,000 after purchasing an additional 77,890 shares during the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ventas by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 21,401 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,260,000 after purchasing an additional 4,973 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter worth about $340,282,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in shares of Ventas by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 892,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $52,571,000 after purchasing an additional 64,821 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VTR shares. Wall Street Zen cut Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Scotiabank raised their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $70.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, June 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.76, for a total value of $93,025.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 27,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,750,467.04. This trade represents a 5.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 14,753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.60, for a total value of $967,796.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,145,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,157,592. The trade was a 1.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 343,588 shares of company stock worth $22,415,190. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of VTR opened at $66.48 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.82. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $30.00 billion, a PE ratio of 201.45, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.87. Ventas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.09 and a 1 year high of $71.36.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 billion. Ventas had a return on equity of 1.36% and a net margin of 2.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Ventas’s payout ratio is presently 581.82%.

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.