American Century Companies Inc. Sells 71,240 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,160,891 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 71,240 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.75% of Ventas worth $186,145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VTR. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Ventas by 66.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Ventas in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total transaction of $14,645,401.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,644,115.46. The trade was a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Baird R W raised Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.90.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTR traded down $0.60 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $67.61. 1,856,770 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,411,512. The stock has a market cap of $29.56 billion, a PE ratio of 355.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. Ventas, Inc. has a one year low of $41.45 and a one year high of $71.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business's fifty day moving average is $64.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.15.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. As a group, analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1,010.53%.

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.