Natixis Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Ventas, Inc. by 15.9%, selling 32,001 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with a total of 169,421 shares valued at approximately $11.65 million.
• Ventas recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.87 per share, exceeding estimates by $0.02, with revenue increasing by 18.3% year-over-year to $1.42 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, representing a yield of 2.8%, and currently has a payout ratio of 446.51%.

Natixis Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 15.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 169,421 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 32,001 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Ventas were worth $11,649,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. Vestcor Inc increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 6.5% in the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 113,355 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $7,794,000 after buying an additional 6,887 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,352,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 124.9% in the 1st quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 10,111 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $651,000 after acquiring an additional 5,615 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas in the first quarter worth approximately $246,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 75.1% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 62,721 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,313,000 after buying an additional 26,892 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 10,322 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.40, for a total transaction of $695,702.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,219,843. This represents a 0.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 3,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.45, for a total value of $266,955.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 168,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,524,515.80. This represents a 2.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 348,700 shares of company stock worth $22,776,223 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Ventas Price Performance

VTR traded up $0.43 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $68.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,122,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,816,835. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $55.67 and a 12 month high of $71.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The business's 50-day moving average price is $64.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.19. The stock has a market cap of $31.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 159.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.87.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 3.61% and a return on equity of 1.75%. The business's revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 446.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VTR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.90.

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.