Ascent Group LLC Makes New Investment in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Ascent Group LLC acquired a new position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,227 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $367,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ventas by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,501,010 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,916,244,000 after acquiring an additional 912,813 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Ventas by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,557,480 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,767,261,000 after acquiring an additional 599,600 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ventas by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,948,546 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $643,207,000 after acquiring an additional 537,253 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Ventas by 60.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,207,553 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $365,563,000 after acquiring an additional 2,347,705 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Ventas by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,133,172 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $361,184,000 after acquiring an additional 335,192 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VTR shares. Wedbush increased their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Argus set a $75.00 price objective on Ventas in a report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ventas has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In related news, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.76, for a total transaction of $93,025.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,454 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,750,467.04. This trade represents a 5.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.23, for a total value of $1,509,405.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 116,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,492,429.50. This trade represents a 16.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 165,974 shares of company stock valued at $11,025,477 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Ventas Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:VTR traded up $0.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $64.25. The stock had a trading volume of 5,071,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,761,980. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.06 and a 12 month high of $71.36. The company has a market capitalization of $29.00 billion, a PE ratio of 338.18, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95. The firm's fifty day moving average is $66.35 and its 200 day moving average is $63.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.02. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. The business's revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 581.82%.

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.