Alliancebernstein L.P. Acquires 198,974 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 17.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,335,585 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 198,974 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.32% of Ventas worth $78,653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Ventas by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,501,010 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,916,244,000 after buying an additional 912,813 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Ventas by 2.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,557,480 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,767,261,000 after acquiring an additional 599,600 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,671,227 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,710,426,000 after purchasing an additional 581,870 shares during the period. 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 acquiring an additional 245,922 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ventas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $340,282,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

VTR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Argus set a $75.00 target price on Ventas in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.90.

Ventas Stock Performance

Ventas stock traded up $1.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $65.29. The stock had a trading volume of 944,943 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,095,460. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.45 and a 52-week high of $71.36. The company has a market capitalization of $28.57 billion, a PE ratio of 343.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02. The firm's fifty day moving average is $65.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.40.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. On average, research analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. Ventas's payout ratio is currently 1,010.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 44,551 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.06, for a total value of $3,165,794.06. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $81,413,086.70. The trade was a 3.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 304,778 shares of company stock worth $20,934,891 in the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.