Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) CEO Sells $695,702.80 in Stock

Key Points

• Debra A. Cafaro, the CEO of Ventas, Inc., sold $695,702.80 worth of stock, reducing her ownership by 0.89%, but still retains over 1.14 million shares valued at approximately $77.2 million.
• Ventas reported earnings of $0.87 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.85, with revenue reaching $1.42 billion, up 18.3% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.8%, although its payout ratio stands at 581.82%.

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 10,322 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.40, for a total value of $695,702.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at $77,219,843. The trade was a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Ventas Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:VTR traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $67.52. The company had a trading volume of 2,813,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,577,380. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The business's 50 day moving average price is $64.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.96. The stock has a market cap of $30.47 billion, a PE ratio of 157.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.87. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.24 and a 1-year high of $71.36.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.02. The business 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%. Ventas's quarterly revenue was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Ventas's payout ratio is 581.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ventas

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VTR. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 226,381 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $13,332,000 after buying an additional 11,767 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Ventas by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 11,214 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $660,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Ventas by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,546 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Ventas by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,335,585 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $78,653,000 after purchasing an additional 198,974 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Ventas by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,335,843 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $78,668,000 after purchasing an additional 83,383 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.90.

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.

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