Wealthfront Advisers LLC Buys New Position in Ventas, Inc. $VTR

Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 107,765 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $9,570,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. Dynamic Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ventas during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas in the second quarter worth $30,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Ventas during the third quarter worth $27,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new position in Ventas during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in Ventas during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael J. Embler purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $78.81 per share, for a total transaction of $197,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,513,309.62. The trade was a 14.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ventas Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE VTR opened at $91.81 on Thursday. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $66.38 and a 1-year high of $101.60. The company has a market capitalization of $47.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 170.02, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $91.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.01. Ventas had a return on equity of 1.99% and a net margin of 4.08%.The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. Ventas’s quarterly revenue was up 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on VTR shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ventas from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Ventas in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Ventas in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $99.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Ventas from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.00.

About Ventas

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.