Paralel Advisors LLC Makes New $3.24 Million Investment in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Paralel Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 55,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $3,239,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on VTR shares. 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 report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 44,551 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.06, for a total value of $3,165,794.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,145,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,413,086.70. This trade represents a 3.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 304,778 shares of company stock worth $20,934,891. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ventas Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of VTR traded down $0.30 on Thursday, hitting $65.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 66,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,635,406. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.45 and a fifty-two week high of $71.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 343.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $66.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.43.

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

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1,010.53%.

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.