Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC Takes Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,570 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at $340,282,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 60.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,207,553 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $365,563,000 after purchasing an additional 2,347,705 shares during the last quarter. Rush Island Management LP increased its holdings in Ventas by 130.6% in the fourth quarter. Rush Island Management LP now owns 3,097,830 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $182,431,000 after purchasing an additional 1,754,494 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Ventas by 1,489.5% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,456,112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $85,750,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP bought a new position in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth $67,719,000. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VTR shares. Scotiabank upped their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Argus set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Ventas in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.00.

Ventas Price Performance

Ventas stock opened at $62.49 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 189.37, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.89. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $49.48 and a 52-week high of $71.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $65.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.87.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 2.80% and a return on equity of 1.36%. Ventas’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 581.82%.

Insider Activity

In other Ventas news, 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 value of $3,165,794.06. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,413,086.70. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.76, for a total value of $93,025.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,750,467.04. This trade represents a 5.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 165,586 shares of company stock worth $10,997,929 in the last three months. 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.