Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) had its price target lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $72.00 to $77.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the real estate investment trust's stock.
A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on VTR. Baird R W raised Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ventas has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.20.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Ventas
Ventas Price Performance
Ventas stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $66.26. 3,030,288 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,385,012. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Ventas has a twelve month low of $41.45 and a twelve month high of $71.04. The company has a market cap of $28.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 348.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $62.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.80.
Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. Equities analysts expect that Ventas will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Ventas Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is a positive change from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is presently 1,010.53%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 41,294 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total value of $2,852,589.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $78,622,918.44. This trade represents a 3.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ventas
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP increased its position in Ventas by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP now owns 29,695 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,749,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 34,973 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,060,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Ventas by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 5,186 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in Ventas by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,221 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in Ventas by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,644 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Ventas Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Further Reading

Before you consider Ventas, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Ventas wasn't on the list.
While Ventas currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Enter your email address and we'll send you MarketBeat's list of the 10 best stocks to own in 2025 and why they should be in your portfolio.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.