Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Sells 238,550 Shares of Ventas, Inc. $VTR

Key Points

• Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI has reduced its stake in Ventas, Inc. by 28.3%, selling 238,550 shares during the first quarter, now owning approximately $41.6 million worth of shares.
• Insider trading activity is notable, with CFO Robert F. Probst selling 29,691 shares and CEO Debra A. Cafaro selling 10,322 shares in separate transactions recently.
• Ventas reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.87, exceeding estimates, and has set FY 2025 guidance at 3.410-3.46 EPS.

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI trimmed its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 28.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 605,331 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 238,550 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI owned about 0.13% of Ventas worth $41,623,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 3.9% during the first 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. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position 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 during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems increased its position 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 during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Ventas by 7.1% during the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,896 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $199,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in Ventas by 17.9% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,313 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTR traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $69.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,758,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,020,910. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 162.15, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.87. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $67.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.32. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $56.68 and a fifty-two week high of $71.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. Ventas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.410-3.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 29,691 shares of the 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 owned 168,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,531,250.36. This trade represents a 14.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 10,322 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.80, for a total transaction of $699,831.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $77,678,121. The trade was a 0.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 276,788 shares of company stock valued at $18,279,081. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on VTR shares. Argus reissued a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $78.00 target price (up from $74.00) on shares of Ventas in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. 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 research report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ventas has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.36.

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.