Royal Bank of Canada Sells 218,460 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Royal Bank of Canada decreased its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 22.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 766,369 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 218,460 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.18% of Ventas worth $45,131,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of VTR. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Ventas by 1,039.4% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,454 shares in the company, valued at $1,750,467.04. This represents a 5.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction of $27,548.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,128,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $80,098,153. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 381,073 shares of company stock valued at $25,880,930. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Ventas Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Ventas stock traded up $0.54 during trading on Friday, reaching $64.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,797,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,757,384. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.66 and a 52-week high of $71.36. The company has a market cap of $28.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 337.84, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95. The firm's 50-day moving average is $66.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 581.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Argus set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Ventas in a research note on Friday, March 7th. 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 note on Wednesday, May 7th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Ventas 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.