Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Increases Stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 480.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,700 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $1,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Community Trust NA bought a new stake in Ventas in the second quarter worth about $25,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ventas during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ventas during the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Ventas in the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Ventas in the second quarter worth $51,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Wolfe Research raised Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ventas news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $389,940.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,900,767.05. The trade was a 6.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 6,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.20, for a total transaction of $431,466.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,360,514.40. This represents a 0.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,079 shares of company stock worth $9,241,311 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ventas Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:VTR opened at $64.07 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.45 and a fifty-two week high of $67.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -376.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.36.

Ventas Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Ventas’s payout ratio is -1,058.82%.

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.