Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Buys Shares of 12,780 Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 12,780 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $879,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 worth $3,916,244,000 after acquiring an additional 912,813 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 valued at $643,207,000 after purchasing an additional 537,253 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 60.8% in the fourth 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% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 335,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Ventas by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,104,450 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $359,487,000 after buying an additional 138,803 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of VTR stock traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $63.71. The company had a trading volume of 2,061,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,787,261. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $65.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.90. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.33 and a 52-week high of $71.36. The company has a market capitalization of $28.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 335.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.89.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.02. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. Ventas's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 581.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 9,110 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.04, for a total transaction of $601,624.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $75,661,697.80. This trade represents a 0.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of the business'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 sale, the director now directly owns 27,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,750,467.04. This represents a 5.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 165,586 shares of company stock valued at $10,997,929 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VTR. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Argus set a $75.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.00.

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.