Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 13,518 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 31.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,480 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 13,518 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Ventas were worth $2,027,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VTR. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ventas during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 1,334.6% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 373 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Franchise Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ventas Stock Performance

VTR stock traded up $0.34 during trading on Friday, reaching $67.52. 2,813,818 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,127,350. 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 1-year low of $55.24 and a 1-year high of $71.36. The company's fifty day moving average price is $64.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.96. The firm has a market cap of $30.47 billion, a PE ratio of 157.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.87.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Ventas had a return on equity of 1.78% and a net margin of 3.61%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is currently 581.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 29,493 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.29, for a total transaction of $1,955,090.97. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,160,849.56. This represents a 14.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 4,375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.82, for a total value of $287,962.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $75,409,644.90. This represents a 0.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 334,478 shares of company stock valued at $21,813,565. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ventas has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.