Ventas, Inc. $VTR Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,421,874 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 379,260 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $1,079,377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 2,854,751 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,998,629 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,781,267,000 after acquiring an additional 1,388,678 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ventas by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,226,283 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $769,061,000 after purchasing an additional 574,663 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Ventas by 6.3% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,597,778 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $353,500,000 after purchasing an additional 331,477 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Ventas by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,570,471 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $351,775,000 after buying an additional 53,614 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on VTR shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Ventas in a research report on Friday, January 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Ventas from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 29,930 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.25, for a total transaction of $2,312,092.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,694,026.50. The trade was a 17.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 10,322 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $88,516,395.70. This trade represents a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 176,747 shares of company stock valued at $13,579,533. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTR opened at $77.65 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.72 and a 52 week high of $81.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $78.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.78. The company has a market cap of $36.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 149.33, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. Ventas had a return on equity of 2.05% and a net margin of 4.28%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. Research analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 369.23%.

Ventas Company Profile

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.