GAMMA Investing LLC Boosts Stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 79.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,443 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,844 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Ventas were worth $330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 77.9% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 514 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Ventas by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 5,292 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Ventas by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,881 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $193,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in Ventas by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,954 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in Ventas by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 9,493 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $473,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 14,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.70, for a total value of $697,612.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,524 shares in the company, valued at $597,394.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Peter J. Bulgarelli 668 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 14,625 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.70, for a total transaction of $697,612.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $597,394.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,270 shares of company stock valued at $1,672,966 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Down 1.2 %

VTR traded down $0.65 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $55.75. 2,368,504 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,275,395. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.33 and a fifty-two week high of $57.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $22.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -293.93, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.16.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.74). Ventas had a negative return on equity of 1.63% and a negative net margin of 3.33%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.75 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 1st. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is currently -947.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on VTR shares. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Ventas from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Ventas from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $54.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ventas currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.92.

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.