Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Position Boosted by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 28.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 10,404 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 2,277 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $667,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Ventas by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,557,480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,767,261,000 after buying an additional 599,600 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,671,227 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,710,426,000 after acquiring an additional 581,870 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 4.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,364,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,498,385,000 after acquiring an additional 982,795 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ventas by 2.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,411,293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $665,559,000 after purchasing an additional 245,922 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Ventas by 105.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,420,322 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $347,605,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,408 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 weighed in on VTR. Scotiabank raised their price target on Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Baird R W raised shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.71.

Ventas Trading Up 0.8 %

Ventas stock opened at $60.09 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.91. Ventas, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.45 and a 52 week high of $67.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.21 billion, a PE ratio of -353.44, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,058.76%.

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.