Mizuho Securities USA LLC Sells 4,758 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its holdings in Ventas, Inc. by 12.0%, now owning 35,002 shares valued at approximately $2.4 million.
• Insider transactions showed that CEO Debra A. Cafaro and CFO Robert F. Probst sold significant shares, with Cafaro selling 10,322 shares and Probst 29,691 shares recently.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ventas from a "neutral" to an "overweight" rating, raising the price target from $70 to $72, while analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Mizuho Securities USA LLC cut its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 12.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,002 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 4,758 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Ventas were worth $2,407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VTR. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Ventas by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 4,440 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP now owns 29,695 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,749,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ventas by 1.6% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,674 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $734,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems boosted its holdings in Ventas by 0.6% during the first quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 28,574 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,965,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Naviter Wealth LLC raised its position in Ventas by 0.7% during the first quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 30,169 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,074,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Ventas Stock Performance

VTR stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $67.55. 581,110 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,081,473. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.68 and a twelve month 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 157.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.87.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 3.61% and a return on equity of 1.75%. Ventas's revenue was up 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 10,322 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.40, for a total value of $695,702.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $77,219,843. This represents a 0.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 29,691 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.49, for a total value of $2,033,536.59. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 376,932 shares of company stock worth $24,716,734. Corporate 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.