Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Purchases 4,594 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 77.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,502 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 4,594 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Ventas were worth $618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 66.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Ventas during the third quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 3rd quarter valued at $74,000. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on VTR. Mizuho lowered their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ventas presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $67.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 6,004 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,231,860.87. This represents a 0.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ventas Price Performance

NYSE VTR traded up $1.22 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $60.12. 1,021,559 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,418,222. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.45 and a 12-month high of $67.61. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.58. The company has a market capitalization of $25.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -353.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.37.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -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.