Park Avenue Securities LLC Acquires 9,369 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 87.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,061 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,369 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Ventas were worth $1,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,501,010 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,916,244,000 after purchasing an additional 912,813 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,948,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $643,207,000 after acquiring an additional 537,253 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 60.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,207,553 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $365,563,000 after acquiring an additional 2,347,705 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Ventas by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,133,172 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $361,184,000 after purchasing an additional 335,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Ventas by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,104,450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $359,487,000 after purchasing an additional 138,803 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of VTR opened at $63.36 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business has a fifty day moving average of $65.54 and a 200 day moving average of $63.90. The company has a market cap of $28.59 billion, a PE ratio of 333.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.89. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.33 and a 52-week high of $71.36.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. The business’s revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Ventas’s payout ratio is 581.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.76, for a total transaction of $93,025.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,454 shares in the company, valued at $1,750,467.04. This trade represents a 5.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.23, for a total transaction of $1,509,405.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 116,650 shares in the company, valued at $7,492,429.50. This represents a 16.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 165,586 shares of company stock valued at $10,997,929. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on VTR. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.00.

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.