First Trust Advisors LP Raises Holdings in Ventas, Inc. $VTR

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 39.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 477,094 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 135,664 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Ventas were worth $30,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,255 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Ventas by 36.1% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,812,970 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $303,939,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275,446 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Ventas by 12.3% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 852,039 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $53,806,000 after buying an additional 93,131 shares during the period. CW Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ventas by 102.7% during the second quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 6,485 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 3,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Groupe la Francaise purchased a new stake in Ventas during the second quarter worth approximately $505,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VTR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Ventas from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ventas from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Citigroup upped their target price on Ventas from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Ventas from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In related news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 2,229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.08, for a total transaction of $178,498.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 106,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,527,559.04. This represents a 2.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 33,591 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.77, for a total value of $2,578,781.07. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 168,364 shares in the company, valued at $12,925,304.28. This trade represents a 16.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 688,590 shares of company stock worth $50,754,668 over the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ventas Stock Down 3.1%

VTR stock opened at $77.55 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.13. The company has a market capitalization of $36.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 149.14, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.78. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.68 and a twelve month high of $81.89.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 2.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. Ventas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.450-3.480 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Ventas’s payout ratio is currently 369.23%.

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.