Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 205,632 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 6,854 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings in Ventas were worth $12,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 24.8% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 399,516 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $23,527,000 after acquiring an additional 79,429 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 5,186 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,306,904 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $76,153,000 after buying an additional 24,483 shares in the last quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC grew its stake in Ventas by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 29,969 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,778,000 after acquiring an additional 2,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ventas by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 61,702 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,634,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at Ventas

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,128,143 shares in the company, valued at $80,098,153. This trade represents a 0.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VTR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Baird R W raised shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush raised 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. Argus set a $75.00 target price on Ventas in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ventas has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.20.

Ventas Price Performance

VTR stock traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $66.91. 3,545,589 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,389,733. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.45 and a 1-year high of $71.04. The company has a market cap of $29.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 352.19, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas's payout ratio 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.