Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Shares Bought by Westwood Holdings Group Inc.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 46.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 306,326 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 96,682 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned about 0.07% of Ventas worth $15,702,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Centersquare Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ventas by 11.5% in the first quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 7,806,396 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $345,667,000 after purchasing an additional 802,546 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Ventas by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,931,538 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $304,047,000 after buying an additional 96,482 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Ventas by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,489,159 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $239,000,000 after buying an additional 413,564 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Ventas in the second quarter valued at approximately $135,425,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 0.4% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,756,752 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $90,051,000 after acquiring an additional 7,585 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on VTR. Wolfe Research raised Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ventas from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Wedbush upped their price target on Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $389,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,900,767.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $389,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 90,795 shares in the company, valued at $5,900,767.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 6,827 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.20, for a total value of $431,466.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,360,514.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 77,065 shares of company stock worth $4,526,464 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of VTR stock opened at $62.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $25.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -327.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $58.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.01. Ventas, Inc. has a one year low of $39.33 and a one year high of $65.64.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.74). The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. Ventas had a negative return on equity of 1.63% and a negative net margin of 3.33%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. Ventas’s payout ratio is currently -947.37%.

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.