Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Sells 4,495 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI trimmed its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 50.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,359 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 4,495 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI's holdings in Ventas were worth $256,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Patten Group Inc. grew its holdings in Ventas by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Patten Group Inc. now owns 6,502 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ventas by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,028,015 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $296,100,000 after purchasing an additional 123,937 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in Ventas by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 113,905 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $6,708,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. B&I Capital AG bought a new position in Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at $5,447,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Ventas by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 48,969 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,884,000 after purchasing an additional 11,571 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $80,098,153. This trade represents a 0.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at $716,373. This trade represents 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 worth $17,769,097 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank increased their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wedbush increased their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $71.14.

Ventas Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of VTR stock opened at $70.50 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.45 and a 52-week high of $71.04. The company has a market capitalization of $30.82 billion, a PE ratio of 371.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The business's fifty day moving average is $61.81 and its 200 day moving average is $62.51.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is an increase from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1,010.53%.

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.

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