J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Boosts Stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,796 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 699 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $308,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Community Trust NA acquired a new position in shares of Ventas during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ventas during the second quarter worth $27,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Ventas during the third quarter valued at $48,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas in the second quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the second quarter worth about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.87, for a total transaction of $1,177,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 156,403 shares in the company, valued at $9,207,444.61. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.87, for a total value of $1,177,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 156,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,207,444.61. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $389,940.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,900,767.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 200,533 shares of company stock valued at $12,737,341 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

NYSE VTR opened at $65.45 on Friday. 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’s fifty day moving average is $63.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -385.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.36. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.45 and a fifty-two week high of $67.61.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. Ventas’s payout ratio is -1,058.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VTR has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $61.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wedbush lifted their price target on Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.63.

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.