5,000 Shares in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Acquired by Avestar Capital LLC

Avestar Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Ventas by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 190,776 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $11,235,000 after buying an additional 1,814 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at $1,327,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Ventas by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 12,300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 999 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at $232,000. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in Ventas by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 12,546 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $739,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VTR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Baird R W raised shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.14.

Ventas Stock Up 0.8 %

Ventas stock traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $67.06. 1,262,539 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,482,721. 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 $28.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -393.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.37. The business's 50-day moving average price is $59.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

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 negative net margin of 1.38% and a negative return on equity of 0.69%. On average, research analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is an increase from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is currently -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.