Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Lowers Stock Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 4.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,516,857 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 285,545 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 1.26% of Ventas worth $379,339,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 4.9% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,680 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $597,000 after buying an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 129.2% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 25,818 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,775,000 after buying an additional 14,553 shares during the last quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 2.8% during the first quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,155 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,592,000 after buying an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the first quarter valued at about $642,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 192.0% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 24,918 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,713,000 after buying an additional 16,383 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ventas Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE VTR traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $65.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,098,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,917,075. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $29.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 198.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.87. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.79 and a 12 month high of $71.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.32.

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

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 581.82%.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other Ventas news, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.76, for a total value of $93,025.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 27,454 shares in the company, valued at $1,750,467.04. This trade represents a 5.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 168,318 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.36, for a total transaction of $11,001,264.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 168,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,004,271.04. This trade represents a 49.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 305,622 shares of company stock valued at $19,900,685. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on VTR shares. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently 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.