KBC Group NV Sells 43,003 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

KBC Group NV trimmed its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 27.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,356 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 43,003 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Ventas were worth $8,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Franchise Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ventas in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 53.9% during the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 811 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 17,374 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.22, for a total value of $1,133,132.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 168,364 shares in the company, valued at $10,980,700.08. This trade represents a 9.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.23, for a total value 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 90 days, insiders have sold 165,586 shares of company stock worth $10,997,929. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ventas Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:VTR traded up $0.06 on Wednesday, hitting $62.93. The stock had a trading volume of 2,707,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,887,820. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. Ventas, Inc. has a 52 week low of $50.88 and a 52 week high of $71.36. The business's fifty day moving average is $64.67 and its 200 day moving average is $63.99. The company has a market cap of $28.40 billion, a PE ratio of 190.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.87.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.32 billion. Ventas had a return on equity of 1.36% and a net margin of 2.80%. Ventas's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Ventas's payout ratio is presently 581.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VTR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Mizuho boosted their target price on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock 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 issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.90.

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.