Ventas, Inc. $VTR Shares Purchased by Wealthfront Advisers LLC

Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 36.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 69,246 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 18,355 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Ventas were worth $4,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Ventas by 3.8% during the second quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 4,335 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in Ventas by 3.9% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 4,440 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 4,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,896 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $199,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Ventas by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,313 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ventas Stock Down 2.0%

Ventas stock opened at $70.12 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $68.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.66. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.68 and a twelve month high of $72.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 163.07, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.02. Ventas had a return on equity of 1.75% and a net margin of 3.61%.The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. Ventas’s payout ratio is currently 446.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 219,515 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.32, for a total transaction of $15,655,809.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at $81,710,967.40. The trade was a 16.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 29,691 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.49, for a total transaction of $2,033,536.59. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,531,250.36. This represents a 14.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 289,072 shares of company stock worth $20,427,497. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VTR shares. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Ventas in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $77.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ventas from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Argus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ventas from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Ventas from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.46.

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.