Net Worth Advisory Group Reduces Stock Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Net Worth Advisory Group decreased its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 30.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,179 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,657 shares during the quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group’s holdings in Ventas were worth $425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,501,010 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,916,244,000 after purchasing an additional 912,813 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,948,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $643,207,000 after purchasing an additional 537,253 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,347,705 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 5.8% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 335,192 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,104,450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $359,487,000 after purchasing an additional 138,803 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VTR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho raised their price target on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Argus set a $75.00 price target on Ventas in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ventas has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Ventas Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE VTR opened at $63.71 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.91. The firm has a market cap of $28.75 billion, a PE ratio of 335.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.89. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.34 and a twelve month high of $71.36.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during 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%. Ventas’s revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. Analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 581.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 44,551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.06, for a total value of $3,165,794.06. Following the completion of 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. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,492,429.50. The trade was a 16.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 165,586 shares of company stock valued at $10,997,929 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Ventas 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.