Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Shares Purchased by Davis Selected Advisers

Davis Selected Advisers boosted its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR – Get Rating) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 242,350 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,050 shares during the period. Davis Selected Advisers’ holdings in Ventas were worth $10,918,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 8,274 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 25,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,162,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 1.7% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,395 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $827,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,938 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund now owns 56,792 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,558,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on VTR shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on Ventas from $57.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Ventas in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Ventas from $56.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 5th. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 11th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price target on Ventas from $56.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.92.

Ventas Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:VTR traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $42.72. 874,187 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,109,410. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.63. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $35.33 and a 52-week high of $57.62. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.47. The firm has a market cap of $17.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -237.82, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.19.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 3rd will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 30th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.21%. Ventas’s payout ratio is -999.94%.

About Ventas

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Ventas, Inc engages in the acquisition and ownership of seniors housing and healthcare properties. It operates through the following segments: Triple-Net Leased Properties, Senior Housing Operating Portfolio (SHOP), and Office Operations. The Triple-Net Leased Properties segment invests in and owns senior housing and healthcare properties.