Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Ventas, Inc. by 49.4% during Q1, owning 37,474 shares valued at $2.58 million after selling 36,625 shares.
• Ventas reported earnings of $0.84 EPS for the latest quarter, beating analyst estimates of $0.82 and showing a 13.2% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Insider sales included CFO Robert F. Probst selling 29,493 shares and CEO Debra A. Cafaro selling 4,375 shares, indicating a decrease in their ownership of the company's stock.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC reduced its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 49.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,474 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 36,625 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in Ventas were worth $2,577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 1st quarter valued at about $276,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the first quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 40.9% during the first 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 buying an additional 10,091 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ventas in the first quarter worth $579,000. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Ventas in the first quarter worth $879,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ventas Stock Performance

VTR stock traded up $0.58 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $67.41. The stock had a trading volume of 645,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,098,924. The stock's 50 day moving average is $64.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. Ventas, Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.28 and a 52 week high of $71.36. The firm has a market cap of $30.42 billion, a PE ratio of 204.28, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 581.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.76, for a total value of $93,025.84. Following the transaction, the director owned 27,454 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,750,467.04. This trade represents a 5.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 14,753 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.60, for a total value of $967,796.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at $75,157,592. This trade represents a 1.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 343,588 shares of company stock worth $22,415,190 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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