Ritholtz Wealth Management Acquires 9,315 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 34.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,657 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 9,315 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Ventas were worth $2,521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VTR. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the first quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in Ventas in the first quarter worth $879,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in Ventas by 48.4% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 39,760 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,341,000 after buying an additional 12,969 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 726.8% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,267 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 4,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ventas by 2.5% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 123,937 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Ventas Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Ventas stock traded down $0.09 on Thursday, reaching $62.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,027,542 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,814,837. Ventas, Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.48 and a 52 week high of $71.36. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $65.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $28.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 189.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is presently 581.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Argus set a $75.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ventas presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction 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 owns 116,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,492,429.50. The trade was a 16.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.76, for a total value of $93,025.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,454 shares in the company, valued at $1,750,467.04. The trade was a 5.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 165,586 shares of company stock valued at $10,997,929 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.80% 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.