Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Ventas, Inc. $VTR

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 5.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 264,886 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,270 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $16,728,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,941,561 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,740,422,000 after buying an additional 2,440,551 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Ventas by 9.5% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 32,347,333 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,224,203,000 after acquiring an additional 2,811,241 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ventas by 4.9% in the second 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 acquiring an additional 574,663 shares during the period. Resolution Capital Ltd boosted its position in Ventas by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd now owns 7,889,848 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $542,506,000 after purchasing an additional 751,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,414,404 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $441,056,000 after purchasing an additional 281,232 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ventas Stock Performance

NYSE VTR opened at $78.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.32. The company has a market cap of $36.64 billion, a PE ratio of 150.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.88. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $56.68 and a 1-year high of $78.09.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.01. Ventas had a return on equity of 2.10% and a net margin of 4.28%.The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 20.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Ventas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.450-3.480 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 369.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VTR shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $78.00 target price (up from $74.00) on shares of Ventas in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $77.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ventas in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Ventas from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 317,258 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.24, for a total transaction of $23,553,233.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,145,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,056,396.80. This represents a 21.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 3,924 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $294,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 112,564 shares in the company, valued at $8,442,300. This trade represents a 3.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 652,618 shares of company stock worth $47,791,654. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.