Entropy Technologies LP Increases Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Entropy Technologies LP increased its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 36.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,853 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 17,271 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP's holdings in Ventas were worth $3,819,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Ventas by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,120 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its stake in Ventas by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 3,308 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 3.7% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,639 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 66.2% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 5,832 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Baird R W raised Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their target price for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $68.71.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VTR traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $59.98. 3,215,671 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,397,319. 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 one year low of $41.45 and a one year high of $67.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -352.80, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $59.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.41.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a negative return on equity of 0.69% and a negative net margin of 1.38%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is currently -1,058.76%.

Ventas Company 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.