Candriam S.C.A. Sells 269,040 Shares of Ventas, Inc. $VTR

Candriam S.C.A. lowered its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 85.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 46,360 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 269,040 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $3,245,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ventas during the second quarter valued at approximately $344,740,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,796,312 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,533,937,000 after buying an additional 2,854,751 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Ventas by 451.9% in 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 buying an additional 1,896,627 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in 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 valued at $1,781,267,000 after buying an additional 1,388,678 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Ventas by 36.1% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,812,970 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $303,939,000 after acquiring an additional 1,275,446 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 2,229 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 106,488 shares in the company, valued at $8,527,559.04. The trade was a 2.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 10,322 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.66, for a total value of $801,606.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,114,034 shares in the company, valued at $86,515,880.44. This trade represents a 0.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 96,868 shares of company stock valued at $7,574,022. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE VTR opened at $85.57 on Thursday. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.75 and a 1-year high of $85.75. The company has a 50-day moving average of $78.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.59. The company has a market cap of $40.64 billion, a PE ratio of 158.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.74). The company had revenue of ($1,229.71) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 4.31% and a return on equity of 2.09%. Ventas’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. Ventas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.780-3.880 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Ventas’s payout ratio is 355.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Ventas in a report on Monday. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $88.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ventas from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ventas from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Ventas from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ventas has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.38.

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.