Citigroup Inc. Raises Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. significantly increased its stake in Ventas, Inc. by 73.8% during the first quarter, owning approximately 419,717 shares worth around $28.86 million.
• Multiple hedge funds, including Vanguard Group and Northern Trust Corp, also boosted their holdings in Ventas, reflecting a growing interest among institutional investors.
• Analysts have set new price targets for Ventas, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.90, signaling positive outlooks for the stock's performance.

Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 73.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 419,717 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 178,210 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.09% of Ventas worth $28,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Scotia Capital Inc. raised its position in Ventas by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 18,236 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 1,311 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 37.9% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 66,584 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,921,000 after buying an additional 18,294 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in Ventas by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 53,460 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,148,000 after purchasing an additional 4,850 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Ventas by 77.6% in the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,785 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 2,964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC increased its position in Ventas by 28.3% in the 4th quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 6,197 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 1,368 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VTR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. 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 note on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ventas from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $73.40.

Ventas Stock Up 0.0%

NYSE:VTR traded up $0.03 on Friday, hitting $67.56. The stock had a trading volume of 1,093,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,084,102. Ventas, Inc. has a 52 week low of $56.68 and a 52 week high of $71.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The business's fifty day moving average is $65.06 and its 200 day moving average is $65.58. The company has a market cap of $30.71 billion, a PE ratio of 157.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.87.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. Ventas had a return on equity of 1.75% and a net margin of 3.61%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 14,753 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.60, for a total value of $967,796.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $75,157,592. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $7,492,429.50. This trade represents a 16.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 376,932 shares of company stock valued at $24,716,734 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.80% 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.