Bank of Nova Scotia Has $3.81 Million Stock Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its position in Ventas, Inc. by 9.5%, now holding a total of 55,448 shares valued at approximately $3.81 million.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Ventas, with an average target price of $72.90.
• Ventas recently reported a net revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, exceeding estimates and showing an 18.3% year-over-year increase.

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 9.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,448 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 5,822 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Ventas were worth $3,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Banco Santander S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 699.9% in the first quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 145,106 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $9,977,000 after purchasing an additional 126,965 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 4.1% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 64,255 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,418,000 after purchasing an additional 2,553 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ventas in the first quarter valued at $217,000. Hartford Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 2.5% in the first quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co. now owns 26,677 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,834,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the period. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 606.2% in the first quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 37,500 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,578,000 after purchasing an additional 32,190 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 14,753 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.60, for a total transaction of $967,796.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $75,157,592. This trade represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.23, for a total transaction of $1,509,405.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 116,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,429.50. The trade was a 16.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 378,391 shares of company stock valued at $24,809,760. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ventas Trading Down 0.2%

VTR stock traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $68.55. 1,692,661 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,788,376. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $56.68 and a 52-week high of $71.36. The company has a market cap of $31.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 159.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.87. The stock's fifty day moving average is $64.69 and its 200-day moving average is $65.41.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 446.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.