11,842 Shares in Ventas, Inc. $VTR Bought by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank purchased a new position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 11,842 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,052,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Ventas by 856.1% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,926 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 7,097 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Ventas by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,373 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $576,000 after buying an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in Ventas by 46.8% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 36,826 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,532,000 after buying an additional 11,739 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of Ventas by 130.4% during 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 buying an additional 12,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the second quarter valued at approximately $805,000. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ventas Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE VTR opened at $93.73 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $91.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.47. Ventas, Inc. has a one year low of $66.38 and a one year high of $101.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.44. The company has a market capitalization of $48.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 173.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.69.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 4.08% and a return on equity of 1.99%. Ventas’s quarterly revenue was up 21.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other Ventas news, Director Michael J. Embler acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $78.81 per share, with a total value of $197,025.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 19,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,513,309.62. This represents a 14.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VTR. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ventas from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Ventas in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ventas from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Fourteen equities research 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.00.

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.