The CEO of Ventas, Debra A. Cafaro, recently sold 121,248 shares of the company's stock, reducing her ownership by 10.94%. This sale amounted to approximately $8.02 million at an average price of $66.17 per share.
Despite this insider selling, Cafaro still retains a significant holding of 986,717 shares valued at around $65.29 million.
Over the past 90 days, a total of 140,079 shares have been sold by company insiders, amounting to $9.24 million.
Currently, insiders hold just 1.00% of the company's stock.
Ventas, a real estate investment trust (REIT) listed on the NYSE under the ticker VTR, opened at $64.07 on the last trading day.
The stock has shown a relatively stable performance, with a fifty-day moving average of $64.17 and a two-hundred-day moving average of $58.00.
The company has a market capitalization of $26.88 billion but currently reports a negative price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of -376.88, indicating profitability challenges.
The P/E growth (P/E/G) ratio stands at 2.98, while the stock's beta is recorded at 1.36, suggesting higher volatility compared to the broader market.
Ventas has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, indicating a significant reliance on debt financing.
Both the quick ratio and current ratio are at 1.04, suggesting a balanced liquidity position.
The stock has experienced a 52-week low of $41.45 and a high of $67.61.
In addition to insider trading, Ventas has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, which was paid on October 17th.
This dividend translates to an annualized payout of $1.80, yielding approximately 2.81%.
However, the company's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is notably high at -1,058.82%, indicating that the dividends paid exceed the earnings generated.
Ventas aims to deliver shareholder returns and focuses on the senior housing sector, which is expected to grow due to the aging population.
Institutional investors have shown interest in Ventas, with Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increasing its holdings by 14.5% during the third quarter.
The fund now owns 320,087 shares valued at approximately $20.53 million.
Other institutional players, such as BDF Gestion and Friedenthal Financial, have also expanded their positions in the company.
Overall, institutional investors control 94.18% of Ventas's stock, reflecting confidence in the company's long-term prospects.
Analysts have evaluated Ventas and have generally provided positive outlooks, with Wells Fargo upgrading the stock to an "overweight" rating and increasing its price target.
Royal Bank of Canada and Wedbush have also raised their price targets.
The consensus rating for Ventas is currently classified as a "Moderate Buy," with an average target price of $63.63.