Park Avenue Securities LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 87.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,061 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 9,369 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Ventas were worth $1,379,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of VTR. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Ventas in the 1st quarter worth approximately $65,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Ventas in the first quarter worth $879,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Ventas by 48.4% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 39,760 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,341,000 after acquiring an additional 12,969 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ventas by 726.8% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,267 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 4,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ventas by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,028,015 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $296,100,000 after acquiring an additional 123,937 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTR traded up $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $63.75. 2,578,605 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,797,039. 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 52-week low of $49.34 and a 52-week high of $71.36. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $65.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.90. The company has a market cap of $28.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 335.54, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.89.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last released 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 analysts' expectations of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on VTR shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Argus set a $75.00 price target on Ventas in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho upped their price target on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 116,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,492,429.50. This trade represents a 16.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 9,110 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.04, for a total value of $601,624.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $75,661,697.80. The trade was a 0.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 165,586 shares of company stock worth $10,997,929. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.