Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Invests $807,000 in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 13,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $807,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VTR. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Ventas by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,501,010 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,916,244,000 after buying an additional 912,813 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 2.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,557,480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,767,261,000 after purchasing an additional 599,600 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ventas by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,948,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $643,207,000 after purchasing an additional 537,253 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Ventas by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,133,172 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $361,184,000 after purchasing an additional 335,192 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Ventas by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,104,450 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $359,487,000 after purchasing an additional 138,803 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ventas presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.90.

Ventas Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:VTR opened at $66.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 350.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02. The business’s 50-day moving average is $67.62 and its 200 day moving average is $63.94. Ventas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $45.95 and a 1 year high of $71.36.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. Ventas’s revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Ventas’s payout ratio is 581.82%.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 44,551 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.06, for a total transaction of $3,165,794.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,413,086.70. This trade represents a 3.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 304,778 shares of company stock valued at $20,934,891 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.80% 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.