Morningstar Investment Management LLC Invests $218,000 in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Morningstar Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,258 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in Ventas by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 169,740 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,842 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Ventas by 31.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,257,474 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $64,458,000 after purchasing an additional 303,730 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ventas by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 174,692 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,955,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Andra AP fonden lifted its stake in Ventas by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 168,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,627,000 after purchasing an additional 37,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Ventas by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 164,984 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,383,000 after purchasing an additional 7,378 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ventas Stock Performance

NYSE:VTR opened at $65.00 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $57.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.58. Ventas, Inc. has a 52 week low of $39.33 and a 52 week high of $65.54.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.74). The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. Ventas had a negative return on equity of 1.63% and a negative net margin of 3.33%. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on VTR. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.91.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In other news, 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 transaction of $2,296,125.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,529,016.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 40,079 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,529,016.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 6,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.20, for a total transaction of $431,466.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,360,514.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 77,065 shares of company stock valued at $4,526,464. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.