Whittier Trust Co. Grows Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 3.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,115 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Ventas by 405.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 171,194 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,532,000 after purchasing an additional 137,327 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,005,000. Centersquare Investment Management LLC grew 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 buying an additional 802,546 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas during the first quarter worth approximately $819,000. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the first quarter worth $11,749,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VTR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $61.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Wolfe Research raised shares of Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $389,940.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,900,767.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 6,827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.20, for a total value of $431,466.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,360,514.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $389,940.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,900,767.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 77,065 shares of company stock valued at $4,526,464 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE:VTR opened at $65.86 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $62.77 and a 200-day moving average of $54.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.66 billion, a PE ratio of -346.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.36. Ventas, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.98 and a 52 week high of $66.08.

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

Ventas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is presently -947.37%.

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.