Van ECK Associates Corp Has $11.24 Million Stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 190,776 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,814 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Ventas were worth $11,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new position in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Ventas by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Ventas during the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the 3rd quarter valued at $64,000. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VTR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho decreased their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.14.

Ventas Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of Ventas stock opened at $66.57 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $59.59 and its 200 day moving average is $61.55. The firm has a market cap of $27.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -391.55, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.37. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $41.45 and a one year high of $67.61.

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

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is -1,058.76%.

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.