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

Groupe la Francaise bought a new position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,922 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $566,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dynamic Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ventas during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new stake in Ventas in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Ventas in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management bought a new stake in Ventas during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTR opened at $93.94 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $88.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.58. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.82 and a twelve month high of $101.60. The company has a market cap of $45.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 173.96, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Ventas’s payout ratio is 385.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on VTR shares. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Ventas from $95.00 to $88.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ventas from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $97.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,152 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.20, for a total value of $103,910.40. Following the sale, the director owned 28,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,557,079.80. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Michael J. Embler bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $78.81 per share, for a total transaction of $197,025.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,513,309.62. This trade represents a 14.97% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.