United Asset Strategies Inc. Acquires 1,299 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,693 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,299 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $4,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Ventas by 2.2% during the third 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 last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Ventas by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,671,227 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,710,426,000 after buying an additional 581,870 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Ventas by 4.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,364,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,498,385,000 after buying an additional 982,795 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ventas by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,411,293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $665,559,000 after acquiring an additional 245,922 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on VTR. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $61.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $67.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 121,248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total transaction of $8,022,980.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,291,063.89. The trade was a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ventas Stock Performance

Ventas stock opened at $60.75 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market cap of $25.49 billion, a PE ratio of -357.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.37. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.45 and a 12-month high of $67.61. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $60.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.80.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,058.76%.

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.