Gotham Asset Management LLC Raises Stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 29.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 190,366 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 43,546 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Ventas were worth $11,211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Ventas by 66.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Ventas by 1,039.4% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Ventas Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:VTR traded up $1.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $64.78. 3,411,957 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,731,056. The stock has a market cap of $29.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 340.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.66 and a fifty-two week high of $71.36. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $67.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.96. 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 (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.32 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 581.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on VTR shares. Wedbush boosted their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Robert W. Baird raised Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with 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, Ventas currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other news, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.76, for a total value of $93,025.84. Following 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 44,551 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were 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 owns 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $81,413,086.70. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 311,481 shares of company stock valued at $21,385,983 in the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.