Wealthfront Advisers LLC Raises Stake in Ventas, Inc. $VTR

Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 36.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,246 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,355 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Ventas were worth $4,373,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 22.1% in the second quarter. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs now owns 25,420 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,605,000 after purchasing an additional 4,603 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 376,297 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $23,763,000 after buying an additional 2,379 shares during the period. Carrera Capital Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors now owns 71,555 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,553,000 after buying an additional 8,382 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in shares of Ventas by 13,677.8% during the 2nd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,240 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 1,231 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ventas by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 921,752 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $58,209,000 after buying an additional 46,125 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In related news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 2,554 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.26, for a total transaction of $179,444.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 116,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,184,446.88. The trade was a 2.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 219,515 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.32, for a total value of $15,655,809.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at $81,710,967.40. This represents a 16.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 289,072 shares of company stock worth $20,427,497. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Trading Down 2.0%

NYSE VTR opened at $70.12 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $31.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 163.07, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.66. Ventas, Inc. has a one year low of $56.68 and a one year high of $72.02.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. Ventas had a net margin of 3.61% and a return on equity of 1.75%. The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 446.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on VTR shares. Weiss Ratings raised Ventas from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ventas from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Argus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.46.

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.