Atom Investors LP Makes New Investment in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Atom Investors LP acquired a new position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 3,424 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VTR. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 862.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,932,017 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $252,160,000 after acquiring an additional 3,523,594 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 105.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,420,322 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $347,605,000 after acquiring an additional 2,778,408 shares in the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas in the second quarter valued at about $73,517,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 4.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,364,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,498,385,000 after acquiring an additional 982,795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 217.4% in the second 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 acquiring an additional 586,676 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 6,004 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.11, for a total value of $396,924.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,231,860.87. The trade was a 0.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $389,940.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,900,767.05. This trade represents a 6.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 133,252 shares of company stock valued at $8,809,845 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of VTR opened at $62.13 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market cap of $26.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -365.45, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a 50-day moving average of $64.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.36. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.45 and a 12-month high of $67.61.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is presently -1,058.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $61.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ventas currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $64.13.

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.