8,120 Shares in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Bought by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,120 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $521,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 647.1% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 5,080 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares in the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ventas in the 3rd quarter worth about $216,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ventas during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $523,000. Tobam acquired a new position in shares of Ventas during the third quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 2.4% in the third quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 276,527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $17,734,000 after acquiring an additional 6,381 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ventas Stock Performance

Ventas stock opened at $64.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $26.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -338.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.46. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.98 and a 1-year high of $65.64.

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 return on equity of 1.63% and a negative net margin of 3.33%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. Ventas’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -947.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 40,079 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.29, for a total transaction of $2,296,125.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,529,016.93. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.87, for a total transaction of $1,177,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 156,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,207,444.61. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 40,079 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.29, for a total value of $2,296,125.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,529,016.93. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 77,065 shares of company stock worth $4,526,464 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on VTR. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $61.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.63.

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.