Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 83,383 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,335,843 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 83,383 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.32% of Ventas worth $78,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Ventas by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,501,010 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,916,244,000 after buying an additional 912,813 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,557,480 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,767,261,000 after acquiring an additional 599,600 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Ventas by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,671,227 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,710,426,000 after acquiring an additional 581,870 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ventas by 2.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,411,293 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $665,559,000 after acquiring an additional 245,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $340,282,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Ventas Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of VTR stock opened at $69.59 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.45 and a 12-month high of $71.36. The company has a market capitalization of $30.42 billion, a PE ratio of 366.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $65.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

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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, 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is 1,010.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total value of $27,548.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,128,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $80,098,153. This represents a 0.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on VTR shares. Robert W. Baird raised Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Four equities research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.90.

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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