Ventas, Inc. $VTR Holdings Boosted by AQR Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC significantly increased its holdings in Ventas, Inc. by 289.6% during the first quarter, owning 1,603,300 shares valued at approximately $110.24 million.
• Ventas reported $1.42 billion in revenue for the latest quarter, exceeding expectations and up 18.3% from the previous year, with an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.87.
• Multiple analysts upgraded their price targets for Ventas, with JPMorgan Chase raising it to $76.00 and Raymond James increasing theirs to $78.00, reflecting a generally positive outlook for the stock.

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 289.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,603,300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 1,191,773 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.36% of Ventas worth $110,243,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ventas in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Ventas by 1,334.6% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 373 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Franchise Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the first quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 14,753 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.60, for a total value of $967,796.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $75,157,592. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 168,318 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total transaction of $11,001,264.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,004,271.04. This represents a 49.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 276,788 shares of company stock worth $18,279,081 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on VTR. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Ventas from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Ventas from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $78.00 price objective (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Ventas in a report on Friday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.36.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTR traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $67.88. The stock had a trading volume of 2,688,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,362,682. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $66.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 157.87, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $56.68 and a 1-year high of $71.36.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Ventas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.410-3.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.