First Trust Advisors LP Buys 116,978 Shares of Ventas, Inc. $VTR

First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 27.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 538,773 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 116,978 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.11% of Ventas worth $44,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ABN Amro Investment Solutions lifted its position in Ventas by 7.3% during the first quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 26,770 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,829 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ventas by 6.2% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 69,827 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $5,710,000 after purchasing an additional 4,079 shares during the last quarter. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS bought a new stake in Ventas in the 1st quarter worth approximately $62,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Ventas by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,190,594 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $588,045,000 after purchasing an additional 253,019 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ventas by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,069 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael J. Embler purchased 2,500 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $78.81 per share, for a total transaction of $197,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,202 shares in the company, valued at $1,513,309.62. This represents a 14.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,152 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.20, for a total value of $103,910.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 28,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,557,079.80. The trade was a 3.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VTR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Ventas in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Ventas from $91.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Mizuho increased their target price on Ventas from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ventas from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.50.

Ventas Stock Down 0.4%

VTR opened at $100.12 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.08. The company has a market capitalization of $48.67 billion, a PE ratio of 182.04, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.70. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.15 and a 1-year high of $100.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 2.09%. The company’s revenue was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Ventas’s payout ratio is currently 378.18%.

About Ventas

Ventas, Inc (NYSE: VTR) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in healthcare-related real estate. The company acquires, owns and manages a diversified portfolio of properties serving the healthcare continuum, including senior housing communities, skilled nursing facilities, medical office buildings, life science and research centers, and other properties leased to healthcare providers and operators. Ventas generates revenue through long-term leases, property management and selective development activities focused on meeting the real estate needs of the healthcare sector.

Ventas’ business model combines property ownership with active asset management and capital markets activity.