Gotham Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 29.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 190,366 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 43,546 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ventas were worth $11,211,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Ellevest Inc. increased its holdings in Ventas by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 7,747 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 2,474 shares during the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Ventas by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 230,924 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,599,000 after buying an additional 55,705 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 92.7% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 52,180 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,073,000 after buying an additional 25,107 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Ventas by 518.1% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 983,561 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $57,922,000 after acquiring an additional 824,429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Ventas by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,463,551 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $262,859,000 after acquiring an additional 509,535 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction of $27,548.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,128,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,098,153. This trade represents a 0.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 313,888 shares of company stock worth $21,536,515. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VTR opened at $65.96 on Monday. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.66 and a 1-year high of $71.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.77 billion, a PE ratio of 347.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $67.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.96.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s payout ratio is 581.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Argus set a $75.00 price objective on Ventas in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.00.

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.