Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Stock Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,931,538 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 96,482 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 1.44% of Ventas worth $304,047,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Evoke Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at $6,947,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Ventas by 405.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 171,194 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,532,000 after buying an additional 137,327 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Ventas in the 1st quarter valued at $1,005,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter worth $3,560,000. Finally, Centersquare Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 11.5% during the first quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 7,806,396 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $345,667,000 after purchasing an additional 802,546 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of Ventas stock opened at $64.43 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $26.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -339.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.33 and a 12 month high of $65.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $58.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.66.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.74). Ventas had a negative net margin of 3.33% and a negative return on equity of 1.63%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. Ventas’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush lifted their target price on Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Ventas from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $389,940.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 90,795 shares in the company, valued at $5,900,767.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Ventas news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 3,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.24, for a total value of $209,028.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 104,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,761,255.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $389,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,900,767.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 77,065 shares of company stock worth $4,526,464 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.