Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Boosts Stock Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,802,402 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 382,080 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 1.38% of Ventas worth $341,703,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VTR. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Ventas by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ventas in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Ventas by 1,039.4% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ventas news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 41,294 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $2,852,589.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,622,918.44. The trade was a 3.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of VTR stock opened at $69.39 on Thursday. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.45 and a twelve month high of $71.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 365.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. On average, analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. Ventas’s payout ratio is 1,010.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VTR. Argus set a $75.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Baird R W raised shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wedbush increased their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.90.

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.