Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Buys Shares of 43,220 Ventas, Inc. $VTR

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management acquired 43,220 Ventas shares worth approximately $3.84 million in the second quarter. Other institutional investors also initiated positions, and institutions now own 94.18% of Ventas stock.
• Ventas reported quarterly EPS of $0.97, slightly above analyst estimates, while revenue reached $1.73 billion and rose 21.7% year over year. Shares opened at $93.47, near the upper end of their 52-week range.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Ventas, with 15 Buy ratings and three Holds and an average price target of $98.00.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 43,220 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $3,838,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Evolve Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ventas during the 2nd quarter worth about $328,000. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $13,921,000. Westpac Banking Corp bought a new position in Ventas during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,973,000. Korea Investment CORP bought a new position in Ventas during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $21,496,000. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ventas during the second quarter valued at approximately $13,913,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Ventas Price Performance

VTR stock opened at $93.47 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $91.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.26. Ventas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $66.38 and a 1 year high of $101.60. The stock has a market cap of $47.94 billion, a PE ratio of 173.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. Ventas had a return on equity of 1.99% and a net margin of 4.08%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on VTR. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Ventas from $95.00 to $88.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ventas from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Ventas in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Ventas from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ventas presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael J. Embler purchased 2,500 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $78.81 per share, with a total value of $197,025.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,202 shares in the company, valued at $1,513,309.62. The trade was a 14.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Ventas

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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