Banco Santander S.A. Has $9.98 Million Stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. significantly increased its stake in Ventas, Inc. by 699.9% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 126,965 shares and bringing its total holdings to 145,106 shares valued at $9.98 million.
• CEO Debra A. Cafaro and CFO Robert F. Probst both sold substantial amounts of their stock in July 2023, with Cafaro selling 14,753 shares and Probst selling 168,318 shares, representing decreases of 1.27% and 49.99% in their respective positions.
• Ventas reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.87 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.85, while the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share.

Banco Santander S.A. raised its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 699.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 145,106 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 126,965 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in Ventas were worth $9,977,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VTR. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in 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 valued at $365,563,000 after buying an additional 2,347,705 shares during the period. Rush Island Management LP increased its stake in Ventas by 130.6% in the fourth quarter. Rush Island Management LP now owns 3,097,830 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $182,431,000 after purchasing an additional 1,754,494 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Ventas by 1,489.5% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,456,112 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $85,750,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364,504 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter worth $67,719,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 1,196.0% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,166,840 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $68,737,000 after buying an additional 1,076,803 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 29,691 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.49, for a total transaction of $2,033,536.59. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 168,364 shares in the company, valued at $11,531,250.36. This trade represents a 14.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.23, for a total transaction of $1,509,405.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 116,650 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,429.50. This trade represents a 16.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 378,391 shares of company stock worth $24,809,760 over the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Scotiabank increased their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.90.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VTR traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $68.60. The stock had a trading volume of 204,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,111,396. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $56.68 and a fifty-two week high of $71.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $31.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 159.40, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $64.51 and a 200-day moving average of $65.24.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 3.61% and a return on equity of 1.75%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is 446.51%.

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.