3,223 Shares in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Acquired by Kovack Advisors Inc.

Kovack Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,223 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in VTR. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Ventas by 8.1% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 15,361 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $669,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Ventas by 25.1% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,388 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $235,000 after acquiring an additional 1,082 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Ventas by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 18,086 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $787,000 after acquiring an additional 2,760 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake in Ventas by 49.5% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 176,513 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $7,685,000 after purchasing an additional 58,413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its position in shares of Ventas by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 563,811 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $24,299,000 after acquiring an additional 10,597 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

NYSE VTR opened at $63.60 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -372.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.36. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.45 and a 52-week high of $67.61. The company’s fifty day moving average is $64.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is presently -1,058.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VTR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $61.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wedbush upped their price target on Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $389,940.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $8,022,980.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at $65,291,063.89. This represents a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 140,454 shares of company stock valued at $9,263,815 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.