Debra A. Cafaro Sells 14,753 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Stock

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 14,753 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.60, for a total transaction of $967,796.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at $75,157,592. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Ventas Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of VTR stock traded up $0.43 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $65.80. 2,416,660 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,920,868. The firm has a market cap of $29.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 199.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.87. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.79 and a fifty-two week high of $71.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.37.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 2.80% and a return on equity of 1.36%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Ventas's payout ratio is currently 581.82%.

Institutional Trading of Ventas

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Ventas in the 1st quarter valued at $276,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Ventas during the 1st quarter valued at $65,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Ventas by 40.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 34,773 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,391,000 after acquiring an additional 10,091 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC bought a new position in Ventas during the 1st quarter valued at $579,000. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in Ventas during the 1st quarter valued at $879,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VTR has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. 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 research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average 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.