Groupe la Francaise Acquires New Position in Ventas, Inc. $VTR

Groupe la Francaise acquired a new stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 8,002 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $505,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VTR. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Ventas by 52.7% in the second quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 536 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ventas in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Ventas during the first quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Ventas by 61.3% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 974 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VTR opened at $80.36 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $73.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.67. The firm has a market cap of $37.75 billion, a PE ratio of 154.54, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $56.68 and a 1-year high of $81.26.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. Ventas had a return on equity of 2.05% and a net margin of 4.28%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. Ventas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.450-3.480 EPS. Research analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is 369.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $78.00 price target (up from $74.00) on shares of Ventas in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ventas in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Argus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 41,294 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.01, for a total value of $3,262,638.94. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,145,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $90,521,361.95. The trade was a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 2,229 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.08, for a total transaction of $178,498.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 106,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,527,559.04. The trade was a 2.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 688,590 shares of company stock worth $50,754,668 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

About Ventas

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.