United Asset Strategies Inc. Increases Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 69.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,394 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 28,120 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.'s holdings in Ventas were worth $4,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 2nd quarter valued at about $135,425,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 2nd quarter valued at about $73,517,000. Centersquare Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 7,806,396 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $345,667,000 after purchasing an additional 802,546 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 217.4% in the 2nd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 856,525 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $43,905,000 after purchasing an additional 586,676 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 1,247.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 496,531 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $25,452,000 after purchasing an additional 459,689 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Ventas Price Performance

NYSE VTR traded down $1.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $65.45. The stock had a trading volume of 4,739,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,390,912. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.45 and a 52-week high of $67.61. The company has a market cap of $27.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -385.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.74). The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. Ventas had a negative net margin of 3.33% and a negative return on equity of 1.63%. Ventas's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,058.82%.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 121,248 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $8,022,980.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at $65,291,063.89. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 121,248 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $8,022,980.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,291,063.89. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 40,079 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.29, for a total value of $2,296,125.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at $56,529,016.93. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 200,533 shares of company stock worth $12,737,341 over the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on VTR. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ventas from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $61.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Ventas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.63.

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.