Patton Fund Management Inc. Has $5.09 Million Stock Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Patton Fund Management Inc. cut its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 22.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,995 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 22,033 shares during the quarter. Ventas accounts for 1.2% of Patton Fund Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Patton Fund Management Inc.'s holdings in Ventas were worth $5,088,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP now owns 29,695 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in Ventas by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 34,973 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,060,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its position in Ventas by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 5,186 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ventas by 1.6% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,674 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $734,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,221 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.76, for a total transaction of $93,025.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 the SEC website. Also, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.23, for a total transaction of $1,509,405.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 116,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,429.50. This trade represents a 16.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 165,586 shares of company stock worth $10,997,929. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VTR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Argus set a $75.00 price target on Ventas in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Ventas Price Performance

NYSE:VTR traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $62.49. 11,169,065 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,848,121. The company has a market capitalization of $28.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 189.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. Ventas, Inc. has a one year low of $49.48 and a one year high of $71.36. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $65.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.87.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.32 billion. Ventas had a return on equity of 1.36% and a net margin of 2.80%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Ventas's payout ratio is 581.82%.

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.