First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Purchases 2,992 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 55.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,410 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,992 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 7.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,246,452 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $937,243,000 after buying an additional 1,483,908 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Ventas by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,691,981 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $829,619,000 after acquiring an additional 331,019 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 3.2% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,575,523 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $234,897,000 after purchasing an additional 173,415 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 1.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,321,475 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $224,194,000 after purchasing an additional 88,489 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 2.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,384,798 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $184,732,000 after purchasing an additional 105,583 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VTR has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ventas from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Bank of America raised shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $48.00 to $53.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $46.00 price objective (down previously from $52.00) on shares of Ventas in a report on Monday, February 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Ventas in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.25.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VTR opened at $47.06 on Tuesday. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.33 and a 52-week high of $50.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.21.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is presently -947.32%.

Ventas Company 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.