Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Buys New Shares in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,021 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $413,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at about $340,282,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ventas by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,501,010 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,916,244,000 after acquiring an additional 912,813 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Ventas by 56.0% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,499,228 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $147,180,000 after acquiring an additional 896,717 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Ventas by 2.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,557,480 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,767,261,000 after acquiring an additional 599,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ventas by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,948,546 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $643,207,000 after purchasing an additional 537,253 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VTR traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $68.67. 2,112,031 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,677,268. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $67.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.66. The stock has a market cap of $30.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 361.44, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Ventas, Inc. has a one year low of $42.88 and a one year high of $71.36.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.48 dividend. This is a boost from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is 1,010.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 44,551 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.06, for a total transaction of $3,165,794.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $81,413,086.70. This trade represents a 3.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 304,778 shares of company stock valued at $20,934,891. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VTR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.90.

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.