Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Increases Stock Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 37.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,136,900 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 307,500 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.27% of Ventas worth $66,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 66.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total value of $14,645,401.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,138,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $77,644,115.46. This trade represents a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 304,778 shares of company stock valued at $20,934,891 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of VTR stock traded up $0.78 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $69.28. The stock had a trading volume of 810,832 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,673,562. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.32 billion, a PE ratio of 364.53, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $43.64 and a twelve month high of $71.36. The stock's 50 day moving average is $67.57 and its 200 day moving average is $63.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1,010.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VTR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Argus set a $75.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a research note on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.90.

Ventas Profile

Ventas Inc NYSE: VTR is a leading S&P 500 real estate investment trust focused on delivering strong, sustainable shareholder returns by enabling exceptional environments that benefit a large and growing aging population. The Company's growth is fueled by its senior housing communities, which provide valuable services to residents and enable them to thrive in supported environments.