Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) CEO Sells $2,852,589.52 in Stock

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 41,294 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total value of $2,852,589.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,138,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,622,918.44. This trade represents a 3.50 % 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 Stock Performance

Shares of VTR opened at $69.95 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 368.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $61.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.46. Ventas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.45 and a 1 year high of $71.08.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This is a boost from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s payout ratio is currently 1,010.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ventas

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 66.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VTR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ventas currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $71.14.

Ventas Company 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.