Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 379,260 Shares of Ventas, Inc. $VTR

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,421,874 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 379,260 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 3.39% of Ventas worth $1,079,377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV increased its stake in Ventas by 0.6% in the third quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV now owns 21,716 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 3.3% in the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,447 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in Ventas by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 4,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ventas by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 4,335 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ventas by 3.3% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,574 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on VTR shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ventas from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $93.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a research report on Monday, January 5th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Ventas from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Ventas from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.63.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 10,322 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $797,477.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,145,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $88,516,395.70. This represents a 0.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 29,930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.25, for a total value of $2,312,092.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 138,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,694,026.50. This trade represents a 17.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 176,747 shares of company stock valued at $13,579,533 over the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ventas Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of VTR stock opened at $77.65 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $78.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.78. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $58.72 and a 1-year high of $81.89. The company has a market cap of $36.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 149.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.01. Ventas had a return on equity of 2.05% and a net margin of 4.28%.The business had revenue of $1.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. Ventas’s payout ratio is presently 369.23%.

Ventas 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.