Insider Selling: Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) CEO Sells 41,294 Shares of Stock

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 41,294 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total value of $2,852,589.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,622,918.44. This trade represents a 3.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Ventas Price Performance

VTR traded down $0.42 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $69.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,463,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,369,676. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $61.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.45 and a 12 month high of $71.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 368.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. This is a boost from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s payout ratio is presently 1,010.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VTR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush raised their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird raised Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Baird R W raised Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $71.14.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter worth about $340,282,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Ventas by 862.7% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,932,017 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $252,160,000 after acquiring an additional 3,523,594 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Ventas by 105.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,420,322 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $347,605,000 after acquiring an additional 2,778,408 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Ventas by 60.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,207,553 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $365,563,000 after buying an additional 2,347,705 shares during the period. Finally, Rush Island Management LP raised its stake in Ventas by 130.6% in the fourth quarter. Rush Island Management LP now owns 3,097,830 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $182,431,000 after buying an additional 1,754,494 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is 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.