Swiss National Bank Acquires 9,800 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,201,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 9,800 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Ventas were worth $77,044,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Community Trust NA bought a new position in Ventas during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the second quarter worth $41,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Ventas in the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Ventas in the second quarter valued at about $51,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 6,004 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.11, for a total transaction of $396,924.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,231,860.87. The trade was a 0.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $389,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,900,767.05. The trade was a 6.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 140,454 shares of company stock worth $9,263,815. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VTR shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $61.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.63.

Ventas Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of VTR opened at $64.25 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Ventas, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.45 and a 52 week high of $67.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -377.92, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $64.18 and a 200-day moving average of $57.21.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. Ventas’s payout ratio is -1,058.76%.

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.