Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Sells 5,637 Shares of Ventas, Inc. $VTR

Key Points

• Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in Ventas, Inc. by 1.7%, selling 5,637 shares to own approximately 318,342 shares, valued at $20.1 million.
• Analysts have recently raised their price targets for Ventas, with estimates now ranging from $75.00 to $80.00, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Ventas announced a $0.48 quarterly dividend with an annualized yield of 2.7%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of over 446%.

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. reduced its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 318,342 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 5,637 shares during the quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. owned about 0.07% of Ventas worth $20,103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VTR. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 1,334.6% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 373 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on VTR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ventas from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Ventas from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Argus restated a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ventas from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ventas from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.46.

Ventas Stock Performance

VTR stock opened at $70.26 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $68.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.44. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.68 and a twelve month high of $72.02. The firm has a market cap of $31.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 163.39, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.89.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.87 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Ventas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.410-3.46 EPS. Analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 446.51%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 10,322 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.24, for a total transaction of $725,017.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,473,616.80. This trade represents a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 29,691 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.49, for a total value of $2,033,536.59. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 168,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,531,250.36. This represents a 14.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 69,557 shares of company stock worth $4,771,687. Company 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.

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