Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Acquires 10,091 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 40.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,773 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 10,091 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Ventas were worth $2,391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP increased its stake 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 valued at $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 5,186 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,674 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,221 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,644 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 44,551 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.06, for a total value of $3,165,794.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $81,413,086.70. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of the company'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 value of $93,025.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,454 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,750,467.04. This represents a 5.05% 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 valued at $10,997,929. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VTR. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. 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 research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Argus set a $75.00 price target on Ventas in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ventas has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.90.

Ventas Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:VTR opened at $62.89 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 190.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The business's 50-day moving average is $64.85 and its 200-day moving average is $63.95. Ventas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $50.38 and a 1 year high of $71.36.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. 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 currently 581.82%.

Ventas 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.