TD Asset Management Inc Boosts Stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Key Points

• TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Ventas, Inc. by 3.1% during the first quarter, owning 150,238 shares valued at approximately $10.33 million by the end of that quarter.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds now own 94.18% of Ventas's stock, signaling strong interest from large financial entities.
• Ventas recently reported $0.87 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48 with a yield of 2.9%.

TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 150,238 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 4,518 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc's holdings in Ventas were worth $10,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Ventas by 31.1% during the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,622 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 1,810 shares in the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 87,805 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $6,037,000 after purchasing an additional 6,300 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Ventas by 3.7% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 73,994 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $5,088,000 after buying an additional 2,633 shares in the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. boosted its holdings in Ventas by 37.1% during the first quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 25,907 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,781,000 after buying an additional 7,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ventas during the first quarter valued at $13,321,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTR traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $67.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,813,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,577,380. The company has a market cap of $30.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 157.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.87. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.24 and a 12-month high of $71.36. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $64.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 3.61% and a return on equity of 1.75%. Ventas's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 446.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.23, for a total transaction 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 approximately $7,492,429.50. This trade represents a 16.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 10,322 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.40, for a total transaction of $695,702.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at $77,219,843. The trade was a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 348,700 shares of company stock valued at $22,776,223 in the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.