ST Germain D J Co. Inc. Buys New Stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $27,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VTR. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,120 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $521,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC increased its position in Ventas by 3.3% during the second quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 6,270 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 3.7% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,639 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ventas by 3.9% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 5,832 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 5,434 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ventas Stock Down 1.5 %

VTR stock opened at $57.40 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -337.63, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.45 and a twelve month high of $67.61. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.22.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. Ventas’s payout ratio is currently -1,058.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VTR. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.67.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 121,248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $8,022,980.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,291,063.89. This represents a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.