Kovack Advisors Inc. Acquires Shares of 3,223 Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Kovack Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,223 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Ventas by 1.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,931,538 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $304,047,000 after buying an additional 96,482 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,489,159 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $239,000,000 after purchasing an additional 413,564 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in Ventas during the second quarter valued at approximately $135,425,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,756,752 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $90,051,000 after purchasing an additional 7,585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the 2nd quarter valued at $73,517,000. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wedbush increased their price target on Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.63.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $389,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,900,767.05. The trade was a 6.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 6,827 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.20, for a total value of $431,466.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,360,514.40. This represents a 0.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 140,454 shares of company stock valued at $9,263,815 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VTR opened at $63.60 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.67 billion, a PE ratio of -372.63, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.36. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $64.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.65. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.45 and a twelve month high of $67.61.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. 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.