Fmr LLC Grows Stock Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Fmr LLC increased its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,364,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 982,795 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned about 5.57% of Ventas worth $1,498,385,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Community Trust NA acquired a new position in Ventas in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ventas in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Ventas in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ventas in the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Ventas in the 2nd quarter valued at about $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VTR. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $61.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.63.

Ventas Stock Performance

NYSE VTR opened at $64.25 on Wednesday. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.45 and a fifty-two week high of $67.61. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $64.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is presently -1,058.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,900,767.05. This represents a 6.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 121,248 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,291,063.89. This trade 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 140,079 shares of company stock worth $9,241,311 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.