Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Has $66.95 Million Stock Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 37.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,136,900 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 307,500 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned 0.27% of Ventas worth $66,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brasada Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. Brasada Capital Management LP now owns 19,788 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,148,000 after purchasing an additional 5,293 shares in the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 67.7% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 25,336 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,492,000 after acquiring an additional 10,227 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Ventas by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,133,172 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $361,184,000 after acquiring an additional 335,192 shares during the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG bought a new stake in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth about $2,368,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Ventas by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 36,597 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,155,000 after purchasing an additional 2,004 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Ventas Stock Down 0.3 %

Ventas stock traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $68.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,113,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,683,405. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $43.64 and a 1-year high of $71.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $67.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 358.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. As a group, analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. This is an increase from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1,010.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 44,551 shares of the business's 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 directly 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 304,778 shares of company stock valued at $20,934,891 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VTR shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wedbush raised their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Argus set a $75.00 price target on Ventas in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ventas currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.90.

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.