Insider Selling: Ventas (NYSE:VTR) CEO Sells $797,477.72 in Stock

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) CEO Debra Cafaro sold 10,322 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total transaction of $797,477.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,145,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $88,516,395.70. This represents a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Ventas Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:VTR opened at $75.11 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $35.28 billion, a PE ratio of 144.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.78. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $56.97 and a 12-month high of $81.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $78.23 and a 200 day moving average of $71.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

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

Ventas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 369.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VTR shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a report on Monday, December 15th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ventas has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.81.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ventas

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ventas during the second quarter worth approximately $344,740,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 4.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,796,312 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,533,937,000 after purchasing an additional 2,854,751 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 142.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,507,841 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $245,514,000 after acquiring an additional 2,060,770 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Ventas by 451.9% during the 2nd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 2,316,344 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $146,277,000 after acquiring an additional 1,896,627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Ventas by 1,135.1% during the 3rd quarter. Lasalle Investment Management Securities LLC now owns 1,552,880 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $108,686,000 after purchasing an additional 1,427,151 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ventas

Ventas, Inc (NYSE: VTR) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in healthcare-related real estate. The company acquires, owns and manages a diversified portfolio of properties serving the healthcare continuum, including senior housing communities, skilled nursing facilities, medical office buildings, life science and research centers, and other properties leased to healthcare providers and operators. Ventas generates revenue through long-term leases, property management and selective development activities focused on meeting the real estate needs of the healthcare sector.

Ventas’ business model combines property ownership with active asset management and capital markets activity.