Van ECK Associates Corp Raises Stock Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 190,776 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,814 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Ventas were worth $11,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Ventas by 2.1% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,120 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $521,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Eastern Bank boosted its position in Ventas by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 3,308 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Ventas by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,639 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 5,832 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VTR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Baird R W raised Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird raised Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $69.14.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of VTR opened at $66.57 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $27.93 billion, a PE ratio of -391.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.37. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.45 and a 1-year high of $67.61. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.55.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is currently -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.