DAVENPORT & Co LLC Invests $276,000 in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,014 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $276,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 worth $3,916,244,000 after purchasing an additional 912,813 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 worth $643,207,000 after purchasing an additional 537,253 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of 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 worth $365,563,000 after purchasing an additional 2,347,705 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of 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 worth $361,184,000 after purchasing an additional 335,192 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Ventas by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,104,450 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $359,487,000 after purchasing an additional 138,803 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on VTR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Scotiabank raised their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Mizuho raised their target price on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wall Street Zen cut Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.90.

Ventas Price Performance

NYSE VTR traded up $0.30 on Thursday, reaching $63.06. 374,439 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,885,298. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $63.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $28.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 191.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.87. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $51.67 and a 12 month high of $71.36.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. Ventas had a return on equity of 1.36% and a net margin of 2.80%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Ventas's payout ratio is currently 581.82%.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 9,110 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.04, for a total transaction of $601,624.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $75,661,697.80. This trade represents a 0.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.23, for a total value of $1,509,405.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 116,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,492,429.50. This represents a 16.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 121,035 shares of company stock valued at $7,832,135. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Ventas Company 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.