Cerity Partners LLC Boosts Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 54.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,495 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 10,365 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Ventas were worth $1,892,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Ventas by 40.5% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 8,810 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 2,539 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 480.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 35,325 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,538,000 after acquiring an additional 29,235 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 47.4% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 8,347 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 2,686 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Ventas by 79.0% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,443 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 2,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS increased its holdings in Ventas by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 67,311 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,450,000 after purchasing an additional 1,684 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 6,827 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.20, for a total transaction of $431,466.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at $62,360,514.40. This trade represents a 0.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $389,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 90,795 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,900,767.05. This represents a 6.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 140,079 shares of company stock worth $9,241,311. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VTR. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Ventas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $64.13.

Ventas Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE VTR traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $62.77. 2,154,700 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,413,068. The company has a 50 day moving average of $64.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $26.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -369.21, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.36. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.45 and a 52-week high of $67.61.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.