Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Shares Sold by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH trimmed its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 761,543 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 25,848 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.17% of Ventas worth $52,364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DAVENPORT & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Ventas in the 1st quarter valued at about $276,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Ventas in the 1st quarter valued at about $65,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Ventas by 40.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 34,773 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,391,000 after buying an additional 10,091 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ventas in the 1st quarter valued at about $579,000. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Ventas in the 1st quarter valued at about $879,000. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 29,493 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 116,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,492,429.50. The trade was a 16.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 343,588 shares of company stock worth $22,415,190. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ventas Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of VTR traded down $0.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $66.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,928,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,687,268. The company's 50-day moving average is $64.04 and its 200-day moving average is $64.73. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.09 and a 52-week high of $71.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 201.45, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.02. Ventas had a net margin of 2.80% and a return on equity of 1.36%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. Ventas's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. Ventas's payout ratio is 581.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VTR has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of 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. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ventas has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.90.

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.