Avestar Capital LLC Takes $295,000 Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Avestar Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 5,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 190,776 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,814 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,327,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 12,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 999 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 4th quarter valued at about $232,000. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 12,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $739,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTR opened at $66.57 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $59.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.42. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.45 and a 12-month high of $67.61. The firm has a market cap of $27.93 billion, a PE ratio of -391.55, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a negative net margin of 1.38% and a negative return on equity of 0.69%. Equities research analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -1,058.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on VTR. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Baird R W raised shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.14.

Ventas Company 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.