Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Purchases 10,790 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 175,774 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 10,790 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in Ventas were worth $11,193,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Friedenthal Financial increased its stake in Ventas by 1,183.7% in the third quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 12,773 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $819,000 after acquiring an additional 11,778 shares during the last quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 62.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV now owns 27,730 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,778,000 after purchasing an additional 10,620 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd acquired a new position in Ventas during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $544,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Ventas by 480.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 35,325 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,538,000 after purchasing an additional 29,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in Ventas by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 332,300 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $21,310,000 after purchasing an additional 24,300 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 6,004 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.11, for a total value of $396,924.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,231,860.87. The trade was a 0.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $389,940.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 90,795 shares in the company, valued at $5,900,767.05. The trade was a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 133,252 shares of company stock valued at $8,809,845. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VTR. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Scotiabank upped their target price on Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ventas from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $61.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.63.

Ventas Stock Down 0.8 %

VTR stock traded down $0.48 during trading on Friday, hitting $61.65. The company had a trading volume of 2,004,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,415,162. The business has a 50-day moving average of $63.98 and a 200-day moving average of $58.54. 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.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is presently -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.