Retirement Systems of Alabama Raises Stock Holdings in Ventas, Inc. $VTR

Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 849,738 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 8,617 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Ventas were worth $65,753,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 856.1% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,926 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $545,000 after buying an additional 7,097 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 6.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,373 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $576,000 after buying an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in Ventas by 46.8% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 36,826 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,532,000 after acquiring an additional 11,739 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in Ventas by 130.4% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 21,613 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,486,000 after acquiring an additional 12,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Ventas by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $269,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 10,322 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.66, for a total transaction of $801,606.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,114,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $86,515,880.44. The trade was a 0.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 35,532 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.00, for a total transaction of $3,020,220.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 72,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,184,175. This represents a 32.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 86,106 shares of company stock valued at $6,931,397 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTR opened at $81.52 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $38.72 billion, a PE ratio of 150.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.73. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $60.15 and a fifty-two week high of $88.36. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by ($0.74). The company had revenue of ($1,229.71) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.53 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 4.31% and a return on equity of 2.09%. The business’s revenue was up 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. Ventas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.780-3.880 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 355.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VTR. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $93.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a research report on Monday, December 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Ventas from $83.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Ventas from $88.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ventas from $88.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.47.

Ventas Profile

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.