Swiss National Bank Boosts Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Ventas, Inc. by 1.0%, owning approximately 1,183,168 shares valued at $81.36 million as of the end of the last quarter.
• Ventas reported its quarterly earnings, revealing $0.87 earnings per share, surpassing the consensus estimate, with year-over-year revenue growth of 18.3% to $1.42 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48, indicating a 2.8% yield, while insiders have sold a total of 378,391 shares valued at about $24.81 million over the past 90 days.

Swiss National Bank raised its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,183,168 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 11,500 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.26% of Ventas worth $81,355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ventas during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Ventas by 1,334.6% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 373 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the period. Franchise Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Ventas in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in Ventas during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new position in shares of Ventas in the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of Ventas stock traded down $0.00 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $68.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,775,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,618,675. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $64.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.53. The firm has a market cap of $31.13 billion, a PE ratio of 159.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.87. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $56.68 and a fifty-two week high of $71.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.87 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ventas news, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.23, for a total value of $1,509,405.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 116,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,492,429.50. The trade was a 16.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 14,753 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.60, for a total value of $967,796.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $75,157,592. This trade represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 378,391 shares of company stock valued at $24,809,760 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.