Legal & General Group Plc Invests $501.85 Million in Ventas, Inc. $VTR

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 5,651,463 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $501,850,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ventas by 856.1% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,926 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $545,000 after buying an additional 7,097 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,373 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $576,000 after acquiring an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position 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 worth $2,532,000 after acquiring an additional 11,739 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Ventas by 130.4% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 21,613 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,486,000 after purchasing an additional 12,233 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the second quarter valued at approximately $805,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Ventas news, Director Michael J. Embler bought 2,500 shares of the 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 completion of the acquisition, the director owned 19,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,513,309.62. This trade represents a 14.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of VTR stock opened at $93.47 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $91.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.26. The stock has a market cap of $47.94 billion, a PE ratio of 173.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $66.38 and a 12 month high of $101.60.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on VTR shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Ventas in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $99.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Ventas in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Ventas from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.00.

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.