Aberdeen Group plc Grows Position in Ventas, Inc. $VTR

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc raised its stake in Ventas, Inc. by 30.3% in the 1st quarter, now owning 1,424,133 shares valued at approximately $97.3 million.
• Wall Street analysts have varying opinions on Ventas, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.90.
• Executives from Ventas sold significant amounts of stock recently, including EVP Carey S. Roberts selling 23,500 shares for over $1.5 million, reflecting a 16.77% decrease in their ownership.

Aberdeen Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 30.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,424,133 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 331,572 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.32% of Ventas worth $97,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Ventas in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Ventas by 1,334.6% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 373 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Franchise Capital Ltd bought a new position in Ventas during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in Ventas during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in Ventas in the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

NYSE:VTR traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $67.76. The stock had a trading volume of 3,265,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,667,642. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $56.68 and a 1-year high of $71.36. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $65.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 157.58, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.87.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 1.75% and a net margin of 3.61%. The firm's revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 29,691 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.49, for a total transaction of $2,033,536.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 168,364 shares in the company, valued at $11,531,250.36. This trade represents a 14.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of the 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 directly owned 116,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 376,932 shares of company stock valued at $24,716,734. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.