Ventas, Inc. $VTR Stock Position Lifted by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Ventas, Inc. by 34.5% during the first quarter, totaling approximately $70.89 million in value.
• Insider sales included CEO Debra A. Cafaro selling 10,322 shares for about $699,831, and CFO Robert F. Probst selling 29,691 shares for around $2.03 million.
• Wall Street analysts hold a generally positive outlook on Ventas, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.36.

Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 34.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,031,007 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 264,638 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.23% of Ventas worth $70,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. AXA S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 372.8% during the fourth quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 66,800 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,934,000 after buying an additional 52,671 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ventas in the 4th quarter valued at $642,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 40.4% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,978 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $588,000 after acquiring an additional 2,872 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 25,255 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,487,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094 shares during the period. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at $665,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VTR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Ventas from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on Ventas from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.36.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VTR traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $67.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,688,717 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,312,876. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $66.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.26. Ventas, Inc. has a one year low of $56.68 and a one year high of $71.36. The company has a market cap of $30.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 157.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.02. Ventas had a net margin of 3.61% and a return on equity of 1.75%. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Ventas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.410-3.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 14,753 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.60, for a total value of $967,796.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $75,157,592. This trade represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 168,318 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total transaction of $11,001,264.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,004,271.04. This trade represents a 49.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 276,788 shares of company stock worth $18,279,081. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ventas 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.