Congress Asset Management Co. Purchases New Stake in Ventas, Inc. $VTR

Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 502,287 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $42,704,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ventas in the second quarter valued at $4,953,439,000. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in Ventas in the 4th quarter valued at $594,116,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Ventas by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,190,594 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $588,045,000 after buying an additional 253,019 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Ventas in the 2nd quarter valued at $501,850,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Ventas in the 2nd quarter valued at $451,822,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTR traded up $0.63 on Tuesday, hitting $81.99. The stock had a trading volume of 4,029,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,636,132. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.93 and a twelve month high of $101.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $90.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.98. The company has a market capitalization of $42.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 151.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.72.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 4.08% and a return on equity of 1.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 385.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Ventas in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ventas from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ventas from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Ventas from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ventas currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.39.

About Ventas

Ventas, Inc is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on owning and managing healthcare and senior housing properties. Its portfolio includes senior living communities, outpatient medical buildings, hospitals, research and innovation facilities, and other properties serving the healthcare industry.

The company generates revenue primarily by leasing its properties to healthcare providers, senior housing operators, academic institutions, and other tenants. Ventas may also participate in property operations through management and operating arrangements, particularly in senior living, while working with experienced third-party operators and healthcare partners.

Ventas serves markets across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.