Cwm LLC Grows Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 192.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,918 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 16,383 shares during the period. CWM LLC's holdings in Ventas were worth $1,713,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ventas in the 4th quarter worth about $340,282,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 60.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,207,553 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $365,563,000 after buying an additional 2,347,705 shares in the last quarter. Rush Island Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 130.6% during the 4th quarter. Rush Island Management LP now owns 3,097,830 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $182,431,000 after buying an additional 1,754,494 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 1,489.5% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,456,112 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $85,750,000 after buying an additional 1,364,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $67,719,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 4,375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.82, for a total transaction of $287,962.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $75,409,644.90. This trade represents a 0.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 4,098 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.24, for a total transaction of $271,451.52. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,152,431.36. The trade was a 2.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 314,095 shares of company stock valued at $20,460,099 over the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VTR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.90.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of VTR stock traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $65.80. The company had a trading volume of 2,416,660 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,933,643. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.79 and a 52-week high of $71.36. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $63.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $29.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 199.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 581.82%.

Ventas Company 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.