Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 160,998 Shares of Ventas, Inc. $VTR

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors raised its stake in Ventas by 160,998 shares (a 2.5% increase) to 6,601,143 shares, representing about 1.41% of the company and roughly $462 million in value.
• Corporate insiders have been net sellers recently: EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 35,532 shares and CFO Robert F. Probst sold 29,930 shares, with insiders offloading 86,106 shares worth about $6.93 million over the past 90 days.
• Ventas boosted its quarterly dividend to $0.52 (annualized $2.08, ~2.4% yield) even after a quarterly EPS miss (reported $0.15 vs. $0.89 expected); analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $89.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 2.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,601,143 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 160,998 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 1.41% of Ventas worth $462,002,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VTR. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ventas by 856.1% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,926 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $545,000 after buying an additional 7,097 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 6.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,373 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $576,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in Ventas by 46.8% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 36,826 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,532,000 after acquiring an additional 11,739 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Ventas by 130.4% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 21,613 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,486,000 after acquiring an additional 12,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Ventas by 19.0% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 372,054 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $23,489,000 after purchasing an additional 59,522 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 35,532 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total value of $3,020,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 72,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,184,175. The trade was a 32.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 29,930 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.25, for a total value of $2,312,092.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 138,434 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,694,026.50. This represents a 17.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 86,106 shares of company stock worth $6,931,397 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Ventas Trading Up 0.3%

VTR opened at $86.78 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $80.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.52. The firm has a market cap of $41.22 billion, a PE ratio of 160.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.73. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $60.15 and a twelve month high of $87.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.74). The firm had revenue of ($1,229.71) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 4.31% and a return on equity of 2.09%. Ventas's quarterly revenue was up 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. Ventas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.780-3.880 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is an increase from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Ventas's payout ratio is 355.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VTR. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ventas from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Ventas from $80.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.00.

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.

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