Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Takes $135.43 Million Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 2,641,914 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $135,425,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.64% of Ventas at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter worth about $231,512,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ventas by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 62,424 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,111,000 after buying an additional 5,828 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Ventas by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 83,883 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 35,874 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,788,000 after acquiring an additional 1,848 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ventas Price Performance

Ventas stock opened at $64.21 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $26.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -337.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.36. Ventas, Inc. has a one year low of $39.33 and a one year high of $65.64. The business has a fifty day moving average of $58.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.58.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Ventas had a negative return on equity of 1.63% and a negative net margin of 3.33%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Ventas’s payout ratio is currently -947.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 40,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.29, for a total value of $2,296,125.91. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,529,016.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 3,784 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.24, for a total transaction of $209,028.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 104,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,761,255.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 40,079 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.29, for a total value of $2,296,125.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,529,016.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 77,065 shares of company stock valued at $4,526,464. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VTR shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target 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. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wedbush upped their price objective on Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ventas from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ventas currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.45.

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.