Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Invests $7.05 Million in Ventas, Inc. $VTR

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 78,903 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $7,046,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VTR. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted 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 valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 7,097 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 536 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 46.8% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 36,826 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,532,000 after purchasing an additional 11,739 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of Ventas by 130.4% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 21,613 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,486,000 after buying an additional 12,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas in the second quarter worth $805,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on VTR. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Ventas in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Ventas in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho raised their price target on Ventas from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ventas from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Ventas in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $99.00 price objective for the company. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael J. Embler acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $78.81 per share, for a total transaction of $197,025.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 19,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,513,309.62. This trade represents a 14.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

NYSE VTR opened at $91.78 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.38 and a 52-week 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 $47.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 169.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a fifty day moving average of $92.42 and a 200-day moving average of $87.57.

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

Ventas Company 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.