State Street Corp Has $1.71 Billion Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

State Street Corp grew its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 2.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 26,671,227 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 581,870 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned about 0.06% of Ventas worth $1,710,426,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Ventas by 480.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 35,325 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,538,000 after buying an additional 29,235 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ventas by 47.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 8,347 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 2,686 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Ventas by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 11,137 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in Ventas by 4.9% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,821 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 13.1% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,581 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,414,000 after purchasing an additional 3,198 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VTR. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $61.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ventas news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $389,940.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,795 shares in the company, valued at $5,900,767.05. This trade represents a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 121,248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 133,252 shares of company stock worth $8,809,845 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Down 0.8 %

VTR stock opened at $61.65 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $64.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.45 and a 12 month high of $67.61.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1,058.76%.

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.