Banco Santander S.A. Cuts Stock Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Banco Santander S.A. lowered its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,807 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 220 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $1,270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VTR. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Ventas by 105.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,420,322 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $347,605,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,408 shares in the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the second quarter valued at approximately $73,517,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its position in shares of Ventas by 217.4% during the second quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 856,525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $43,905,000 after acquiring an additional 586,676 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Ventas by 1,247.7% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 496,531 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,452,000 after acquiring an additional 459,689 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Ventas during the first quarter worth $19,551,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VTR. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ventas has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.63.

Ventas Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of VTR opened at $63.55 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.45 and a 1 year high of $67.61. 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 50 day simple moving average of $64.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.42.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -1,058.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In related news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $389,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 90,795 shares in the company, valued at $5,900,767.05. This represents a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 6,004 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.11, for a total transaction of $396,924.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,231,860.87. This trade represents a 0.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 140,454 shares of company stock worth $9,263,815. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ventas 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.