Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Takes Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 141,534 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $8,335,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VTR. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 66.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $243,558.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction of $27,548.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,128,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,098,153. This represents a 0.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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Ventas Price Performance

Shares of VTR stock traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $67.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,808,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,783,474. The business has a fifty day moving average of $63.44 and a 200-day moving average of $63.00. The stock has a market cap of $29.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 355.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.45 and a twelve month 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.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. This is an increase from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1,010.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VTR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.90.

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.