West Oak Capital LLC Increases Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

West Oak Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,405 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the quarter. West Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Ventas were worth $347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Community Trust NA bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas during the second quarter worth $27,000. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the first quarter valued at $30,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ventas in the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Ventas in the 2nd quarter worth $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of VTR stock opened at $65.55 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.98 and a 1 year high of $65.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $27.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -163.87, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $62.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.77.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.74). The firm had revenue of $1.20 billion during 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 revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is currently -449.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on VTR shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $61.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.63.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In related news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 90,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,900,767.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Ventas news, 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 value of $389,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 90,795 shares in the company, valued at $5,900,767.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.24, for a total transaction of $209,028.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 104,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,761,255.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 77,065 shares of company stock worth $4,526,464. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.