Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 120,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $7,067,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP boosted its stake in 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 period. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in Ventas by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 34,973 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,060,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Ventas by 3.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,221 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Ventas by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,644 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wedbush increased their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of Ventas stock traded up $0.95 during trading on Friday, hitting $65.78. 4,810,734 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,738,434. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 346.24, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95. Ventas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.66 and a 1 year high of $71.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $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 released 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. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is currently 581.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In related news, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 27,454 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,750,467.04. This represents a 5.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction of $27,548.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,128,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,098,153. This trade represents a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 311,481 shares of company stock worth $21,385,983 in the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.