Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Shares Acquired by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Key Points

• Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Ventas, Inc. by 81% in the first quarter, owning a total of 196,911 shares worth approximately $13.54 million.
• Ventas recently reported earnings of $0.87 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, and had a revenue increase of 18.3% year-over-year, amounting to $1.42 billion.
• Insider selling activity included CEO Debra A. Cafaro offloading 10,322 shares, signaling a 0.89% decrease in her ownership, with insiders having sold a total of 376,932 shares worth nearly $24.72 million in the last quarter.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 81.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 196,911 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 88,098 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board's holdings in Ventas were worth $13,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the 1st quarter worth approximately $359,113,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ventas in the first quarter worth about $27,504,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 32,347,333 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,224,203,000 after buying an additional 2,811,241 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ventas during the 1st quarter worth about $377,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in Ventas in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ventas Price Performance

Ventas stock traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $67.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,265,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,099,034. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $65.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.68 and a twelve month high of $71.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 157.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.87.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Ventas had a net margin of 3.61% and a return on equity of 1.75%. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In other news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 29,691 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.49, for a total transaction of $2,033,536.59. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,531,250.36. This trade represents a 14.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 10,322 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.40, for a total transaction of $695,702.80. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 376,932 shares of company stock valued at $24,716,734. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VTR. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $73.40.

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.