Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) CEO Debra A. Cafaro Sells 214,679 Shares

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total transaction of $14,645,401.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at $77,644,115.46. This trade represents a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VTR opened at $69.18 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.45 and a fifty-two week high of $69.25. The stock has a market cap of $30.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 364.12, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.24.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. This is a boost from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1,010.53%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ventas

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VTR. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 81.2% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 104,646 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,711,000 after buying an additional 46,887 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 20,421 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,310,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 7,539.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 198,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,733,000 after purchasing an additional 195,947 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 49.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,163 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 2,719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 23,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,494,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Baird R W raised shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $71.14.

Ventas Company Profile

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.