Asset Planning Inc Buys New Stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,587 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $152,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Ventas by 862.7% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 3,523,594 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Ventas by 105.2% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 2,778,408 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Ventas by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,364,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,498,385,000 after purchasing an additional 982,795 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Ventas by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,557,480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,767,261,000 after purchasing an additional 599,600 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Ventas by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,671,227 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,710,426,000 after purchasing an additional 581,870 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Ventas in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Baird R W raised Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $68.71.

Ventas Trading Up 8.0 %

Shares of Ventas stock opened at $64.73 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.45 and a 12 month high of $67.61.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a negative return on equity of 0.69% and a negative net margin of 1.38%. Equities analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,058.76%.

About Ventas

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.