Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Raises Stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its stake in Ventas, Inc. by 7.7%, holding 87,805 shares valued at approximately $6 million after acquiring an additional 6,300 shares.
• Ventas reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.84, exceeding analysts' expectations, along with a revenue increase of 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year.
• Despite positive earnings, several equity analysts have mixed ratings on Ventas, with one rating it as a "sell" and others providing "buy" and "hold" recommendations.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 7.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,805 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 6,300 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ's holdings in Ventas were worth $6,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in Ventas by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 4,440 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP now owns 29,695 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,749,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Ventas by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,674 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $734,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in Ventas by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,644 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems raised its position in Ventas by 0.6% in the first quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 28,574 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,965,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ventas has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.90.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In other news, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.23, for a total transaction of $1,509,405.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 116,650 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,429.50. The trade was a 16.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 168,318 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total transaction of $11,001,264.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,004,271.04. This trade represents a 49.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 334,478 shares of company stock valued at $21,813,565. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ventas Price Performance

VTR traded up $0.84 during trading on Thursday, reaching $67.32. 2,077,725 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,111,099. The company has a market cap of $30.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 203.96, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.90. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.28 and a 12-month high of $71.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Ventas had a return on equity of 1.36% and a net margin of 2.80%. Ventas's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Ventas's payout ratio is currently 581.82%.

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.