Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 24,644 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Ventas, Inc. to 256,868 shares, reflecting a 10.6% rise after acquiring 24,644 additional shares during Q1.
• Ventas reported an EPS of $0.87 for the last quarter, exceeding predictions, while its revenue increased by 18.3% year-over-year to $1.42 billion.
• Analysts have a mixed perspective on Ventas, with ratings ranging from "sell" to "strong buy", and an average target price of $72.90, reflecting optimism in the stock's potential.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 10.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 256,868 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 24,644 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.06% of Ventas worth $17,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Ventas Trading Up 0.3%

VTR stock traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $67.76. The stock had a trading volume of 3,265,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,625,225. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $30.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 157.58, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.87. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.68 and a twelve month high of $71.36.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 1.75% and a net margin of 3.61%. The company's revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.23, for a total value of $1,509,405.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 116,650 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,429.50. This trade represents a 16.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 10,322 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.40, for a total value 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 trade represents a 0.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 376,932 shares of company stock worth $24,716,734 over the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VTR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ventas from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company 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 issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $73.40.

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.