Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ventas, Inc. by 3.7%, owning 68,941,561 shares, which represents 15.75% of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4.74 billion.
• Analysts have mixed views on Ventas, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target averaging $72.90, while some have downgraded it to a "sell" rating.
• Ventas announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, equating to an annualized dividend yield of 2.8%, with a significant dividend payout ratio of 446.51%.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,941,561 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 2,440,551 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 15.75% of Ventas worth $4,740,422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VTR. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Ventas by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 409,931 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $24,141,000 after acquiring an additional 18,629 shares during the period. FIL Ltd raised its holdings in Ventas by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 179,743 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $10,585,000 after acquiring an additional 5,814 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Ventas by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 61,270 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,607,000 after acquiring an additional 5,832 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. bought a new stake in Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at about $12,819,000. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. raised its holdings in Ventas by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 18,236 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 1,311 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ventas Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE VTR traded down $0.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $68.55. The stock had a trading volume of 1,692,661 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,788,376. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 159.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.87. Ventas, Inc. has a one year low of $56.68 and a one year high of $71.36. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.41.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Ventas had a net margin of 3.61% and a return on equity of 1.75%. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Ventas's payout ratio is currently 446.51%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 10,322 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.40, for a total value of $695,702.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $77,219,843. The trade was a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 116,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,492,429.50. This trade represents a 16.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 378,391 shares of company stock valued at $24,809,760. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VTR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ventas currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.