Atria Investments Inc Sells 5,080 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Atria Investments Inc reduced its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 34.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,763 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 5,080 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc's holdings in Ventas were worth $575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 2.2% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 15,006 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 2.8% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 127,422 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $8,172,000 after purchasing an additional 3,468 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the third quarter worth approximately $207,000. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 341.4% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 570,112 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $36,561,000 after purchasing an additional 440,966 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 38.6% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,563 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Ventas Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of VTR traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $68.11. The stock had a trading volume of 2,888,440 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,384,279. Ventas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.45 and a 1 year high of $71.04. The firm has a market cap of $29.77 billion, a PE ratio of 358.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock's 50 day moving average is $63.21 and its 200 day moving average is $62.96.

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

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1,010.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction of $27,548.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,128,143 shares in the company, valued at $80,098,153. This represents a 0.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 have sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on VTR. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Scotiabank upped 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. Four investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.90.

Ventas 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.