Cerity Partners LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 54.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,495 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 10,365 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Ventas were worth $1,892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. First Community Trust NA acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas in the second quarter valued at $25,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ventas during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ventas in the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Ventas in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Ventas during the second quarter worth about $51,000. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VTR has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $61.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 121,248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $8,022,980.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,291,063.89. The trade was a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,900,767.05. This trade represents a 6.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,079 shares of company stock valued at $9,241,311 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:VTR opened at $62.23 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $26.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -366.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.36. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.45 and a 1-year high of $67.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $64.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.14.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,058.82%.

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.