Insider Selling: Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) CEO Sells 9,110 Shares of Stock

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 9,110 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.04, for a total transaction of $601,624.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,661,697.80. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Ventas Stock Down 0.8 %

VTR stock traded down $0.53 during trading on Thursday, reaching $65.54. The stock had a trading volume of 2,296,746 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,704,722. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market capitalization of $28.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 344.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95. Ventas, Inc. has a one year low of $46.66 and a one year high of $71.36. The company's 50 day moving average is $67.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.97.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.32 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. This is an increase from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is presently 581.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on VTR shares. Argus set a $75.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a report on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on 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 assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $73.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in Ventas by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 4,440 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP lifted its stake in 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 worth $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 34,973 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,060,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 5,186 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ventas by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,674 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $734,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.18% 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.