Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Shares Sold by Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P.

Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. reduced its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 26.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 158,676 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 57,715 shares during the period. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P.'s holdings in Ventas were worth $10,910,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Spirit of America Management Corp NY grew its stake in Ventas by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 11,950 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $822,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Vanderbilt University bought a new position in Ventas in the 1st quarter worth about $688,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in Ventas by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 335,358 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $23,059,000 after acquiring an additional 5,595 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Ventas by 16.9% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,763 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Ventas by 24.9% in the 1st quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 1,084 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VTR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Argus set a $75.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.90.

Ventas Stock Up 1.9%

NYSE:VTR traded up $1.18 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $63.63. 4,872,329 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,855,107. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.48 and a 12-month high of $71.36. The business has a 50-day moving average of $65.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.72 billion, a PE ratio of 192.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 581.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.23, for a total transaction of $1,509,405.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 116,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,429.50. This trade represents a 16.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.76, for a total transaction of $93,025.84. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,750,467.04. This represents a 5.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 165,586 shares of company stock valued at $10,997,929 over the last 90 days. 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.