Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Shares Acquired by Townsend & Associates Inc

Townsend & Associates Inc raised its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,616 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 451 shares during the period. Townsend & Associates Inc’s holdings in Ventas were worth $2,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in Ventas by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 61,041 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,572,000 after buying an additional 1,262 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 2.6% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,015,820 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $169,186,000 after acquiring an additional 101,313 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Ventas in the third quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Ventas by 1.7% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 320,836 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,517,000 after purchasing an additional 5,311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in Ventas by 199.9% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 235,869 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,461,000 after purchasing an additional 157,217 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ventas news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 18,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.11, for a total value of $871,535.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 176,403 shares in the company, valued at $8,310,345.33. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on VTR. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $46.00 price target (down from $52.00) on shares of Ventas in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ventas from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Ventas in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Ventas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $48.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.25.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of Ventas stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $47.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 562,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,371,267. Ventas, Inc. has a one year low of $39.33 and a one year high of $50.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $19.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -249.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.25.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is currently -947.37%.

Ventas 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.