Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Sells 20,905 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 16.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 109,453 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 20,905 shares during the quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Ventas were worth $7,526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VTR. Franchise Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Ventas in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 738 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, State of Wyoming increased its holdings in Ventas by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 975 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ventas Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE:VTR traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $63.71. 2,061,270 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,787,261. The company has a market cap of $28.75 billion, a PE ratio of 335.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.89. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $49.33 and a one year high of $71.36. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $65.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.90.

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

Ventas Announces Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 581.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In related news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 69,592 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.59, for a total transaction of $4,494,947.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 168,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,874,630.76. This trade represents a 29.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 116,650 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,429.50. This trade represents a 16.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 165,586 shares of company stock worth $10,997,929. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on VTR. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $73.00.

About Ventas

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.