Patton Fund Management Inc. lowered its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 22.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,995 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 22,033 shares during the period. Ventas accounts for 1.2% of Patton Fund Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Patton Fund Management Inc.'s holdings in Ventas were worth $5,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter worth $340,282,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 60.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,207,553 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $365,563,000 after buying an additional 2,347,705 shares during the period. Rush Island Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 130.6% in the 4th quarter. Rush Island Management LP now owns 3,097,830 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $182,431,000 after buying an additional 1,754,494 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 1,489.5% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,456,112 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $85,750,000 after buying an additional 1,364,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in Ventas during the fourth quarter worth about $67,719,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research firms have commented on VTR. Wall Street Zen lowered Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Argus set a $75.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.00.
Read Our Latest Analysis on VTR
Ventas Price Performance
Shares of VTR traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $63.04. 706,366 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,048,488. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $65.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.88. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.48 and a 12-month high of $71.36. 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 company has a market cap of $28.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 191.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 2.80% and a return on equity of 1.36%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.
Ventas Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 581.82%.
Insider Transactions at Ventas
In other news, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 27,454 shares in the company, valued at $1,750,467.04. The trade was a 5.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 9,110 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.04, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 0.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 165,586 shares of company stock worth $10,997,929 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.
About Ventas
(
Free Report)
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.
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