Cohen & Steers Inc. Grows Stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 37.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,584 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 18,294 shares during the quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc.'s holdings in Ventas were worth $3,921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Ventas by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VTR. Wedbush increased their target price 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. Robert W. Baird raised Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho increased their target price on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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. 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 is available at this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total value of $14,645,401.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $77,644,115.46. This represents a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 304,778 shares of company stock valued at $20,934,891 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of VTR stock traded up $0.16 on Friday, reaching $67.79. The company had a trading volume of 2,903,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,670,472. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.67 billion, a PE ratio of 356.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business's 50-day moving average is $67.05 and its 200 day moving average is $63.56. Ventas, Inc. has a one year low of $42.05 and a one year high of $71.36.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. Equities research analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. This is an increase from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1,010.53%.

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.