Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Hits New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $81.89 and last traded at $80.0050, with a volume of 2572196 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.00.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 369.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on VTR. Argus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ventas from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Ventas in a research report on Friday, September 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.40.

Ventas Trading Down 0.5%

The company has a fifty day moving average of $74.83 and a 200-day moving average of $69.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.32 billion, a PE ratio of 148.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 2.05%. Ventas’s quarterly revenue was up 20.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.80 EPS. Ventas has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.450-3.480 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 41,294 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.01, for a total transaction of $3,262,638.94. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at $90,521,361.95. This trade represents a 3.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 33,591 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.77, for a total transaction of $2,578,781.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 168,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,925,304.28. The trade was a 16.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 688,590 shares of company stock valued at $50,754,668 over the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ventas

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 2.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,598,827 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,151,182,000 after acquiring an additional 1,802,515 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 29,701,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,078,794,000 after purchasing an additional 387,495 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Ventas by 3.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,927,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,038,176,000 after buying an additional 928,386 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 574,663 shares during the period. Finally, Resolution Capital Ltd grew its position in Ventas by 10.5% during the first quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd now owns 7,889,848 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $542,506,000 after buying an additional 751,587 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

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.