Easterly Investment Partners LLC Buys Shares of 300,724 Ventas, Inc. $VTR

Key Points

• Easterly Investment Partners LLC has acquired 300,724 shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR), valued at approximately $18.99 million, which now constitutes 1.4% of its investment portfolio.
• Insider transactions included CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli selling 2,554 shares and CFO Robert F. Probst selling 29,691 shares, reflecting a decrease in their ownership of the stock.
• Analysts have provided a range of ratings for Ventas, with targets as high as $78.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Easterly Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 300,724 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $18,991,000. Ventas makes up approximately 1.4% of Easterly Investment Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Easterly Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.07% of Ventas as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VTR. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 20.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 9,959 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $685,000 after acquiring an additional 1,660 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 40.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 34,773 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,391,000 after acquiring an additional 10,091 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,139 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,072,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In other news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 2,554 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.26, for a total value of $179,444.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 116,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,184,446.88. This represents a 2.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 29,691 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.49, for a total value of $2,033,536.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,531,250.36. The trade was a 14.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 99,050 shares of company stock valued at $6,726,778. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VTR. UBS Group began coverage on Ventas in a report on Friday, September 19th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Ventas in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $77.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Ventas in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Ventas from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $78.00 price target (up from $74.00) on shares of Ventas in a report on Friday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.23.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of VTR opened at $69.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $31.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 161.72, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $68.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $56.68 and a 12 month 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. Ventas had a return on equity of 1.75% and a net margin of 3.61%.The firm's revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. Ventas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.410-3.46 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is presently 446.51%.

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.

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