Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Purchases 13,219 Shares of Ventas, Inc. $VTR

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 42.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 44,387 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,219 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Ventas were worth $3,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Ventas by 1,557.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 431 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in Ventas by 65.5% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 455 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in Ventas by 76.1% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 456 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Ventas by 52.7% during the second quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 536 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In related news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 29,930 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.25, for a total transaction of $2,312,092.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 138,434 shares in the company, valued at $10,694,026.50. The trade was a 17.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 10,322 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.26, for a total value of $797,477.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at $88,516,395.70. This represents a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 176,747 shares of company stock worth $13,579,533. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $93.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a report on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Ventas in a research report on Friday, January 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Ventas from $70.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Ventas from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Ventas from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ventas has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.63.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of VTR stock opened at $75.88 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $78.30 and a 200 day moving average of $72.62. Ventas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.72 and a 1 year high of $81.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 145.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.78.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.01. Ventas had a return on equity of 2.05% and a net margin of 4.28%.The business had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 20.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 369.23%.

Ventas Profile

Ventas, Inc (NYSE: VTR) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in healthcare-related real estate. The company acquires, owns and manages a diversified portfolio of properties serving the healthcare continuum, including senior housing communities, skilled nursing facilities, medical office buildings, life science and research centers, and other properties leased to healthcare providers and operators. Ventas generates revenue through long-term leases, property management and selective development activities focused on meeting the real estate needs of the healthcare sector.

Ventas’ business model combines property ownership with active asset management and capital markets activity.