Debra A. Cafaro Sells 214,679 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Stock

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total value of $14,645,401.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,644,115.46. This represents a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Ventas Stock Up 0.8 %

Ventas stock opened at $68.81 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $60.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $30.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 362.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.45 and a twelve month high of $68.99.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. As a group, analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1,010.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VTR has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Baird R W raised shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.71.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ventas

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VTR. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Ventas in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 66.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.