Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Grows Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 3.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,012 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 520 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Ventas were worth $872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Community Trust NA acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ventas during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in Ventas during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on VTR shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ventas from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Wedbush upped their target price on Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Ventas from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.67.

Ventas Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:VTR opened at $64.89 on Thursday. Ventas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.33 and a 1 year high of $65.64. The business has a fifty day moving average of $59.35 and a 200-day moving average of $51.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market cap of $26.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -341.53, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.36.

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

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -947.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.24, for a total value of $209,028.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 104,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,761,255.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 3,784 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.24, for a total value of $209,028.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 104,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,761,255.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $389,940.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,900,767.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 77,065 shares of company stock valued at $4,526,464. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.