Stephens Inc. AR Buys Shares of 3,620 Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Stephens Inc. AR bought a new stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR – Get Rating) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,620 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $224,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CVA Family Office LLC increased its position in Ventas by 21.4% during the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,105 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp. grew its position in shares of Ventas by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 2,097 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of Ventas by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 25,200 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,531,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Ellevest Inc. grew its position in shares of Ventas by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 2,824 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $174,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Finally, Marino Stram & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Ventas by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 13,286 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $821,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 17,400 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.43, for a total value of $981,882.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 767,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,335,982.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VTR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Credit Suisse Group assumed coverage on shares of Ventas in a research report on Wednesday, June 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $63.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Ventas from $59.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 15th. Mizuho cut their target price on Ventas from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 1st. StockNews.com cut Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Ventas from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.80.

Ventas Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of Ventas stock opened at $48.95 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.44 and a 1 year high of $64.02. The firm has a market cap of $19.57 billion, a PE ratio of 125.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $51.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 14th. Investors of record on Friday, July 1st were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 30th. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 461.55%.

About Ventas

(Get Rating)

Ventas, an S&P 500 company, operates at the intersection of two powerful and dynamic industries – healthcare and real estate. As one of the world's foremost Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT), we use the power of capital to unlock the value of real estate, partnering with leading care providers, developers, research and medical institutions, innovators and healthcare organizations whose success is buoyed by the demographic tailwind of an aging population.