Westpac Banking Corp Takes $8.97 Million Position in Ventas, Inc. $VTR

Westpac Banking Corp bought a new position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 101,045 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $8,973,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Ventas by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,948,003 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,876,856,000 after buying an additional 2,349,176 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Ventas during the second quarter worth about $4,953,439,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,662,635 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,309,234,000 after buying an additional 735,620 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,988,943 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,001,447,000 after buying an additional 475,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,176,254 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $710,060,000 after buying an additional 2,000,341 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE VTR opened at $93.32 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.38 and a 1-year high of $101.60. The company has a market cap of $47.87 billion, a PE ratio of 172.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average of $91.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.08.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.01. Ventas had a net margin of 4.08% and a return on equity of 1.99%. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 earnings per share. Ventas’s revenue was up 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other news, Director Michael J. Embler purchased 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $78.81 per share, for a total transaction of $197,025.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 19,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,513,309.62. The trade was a 14.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Ventas from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Ventas from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ventas from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Ventas from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Ventas in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ventas currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.00.

Ventas Company Profile

Ventas, Inc (NYSE: VTR) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in healthcare-related real estate. The company acquires, owns and manages a diversified portfolio of properties serving the healthcare continuum, including senior housing communities, skilled nursing facilities, medical office buildings, life science and research centers, and other properties leased to healthcare providers and operators. Ventas generates revenue through long-term leases, property management and selective development activities focused on meeting the real estate needs of the healthcare sector.

Ventas’ business model combines property ownership with active asset management and capital markets activity.