Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 537,253 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,948,546 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 537,253 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.61% of Ventas worth $643,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 24,161 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,549,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Atom Investors LP bought a new position in Ventas in the third quarter valued at about $220,000. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 0.6% during the third quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 222,292 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $14,256,000 after purchasing an additional 1,284 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 50.6% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 13,391 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $859,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 34.8% during the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,974 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,541 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Ventas Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of VTR stock traded up $2.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $65.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,157,158 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,645,243. Ventas, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.45 and a 52 week high of $71.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $66.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.43. The company has a market cap of $28.70 billion, a PE ratio of 345.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last issued 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, equities research analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is currently 1,010.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 44,551 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.06, for a total transaction of $3,165,794.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at $81,413,086.70. The trade was a 3.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 304,778 shares of company stock worth $20,934,891. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VTR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wedbush increased their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird raised Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Argus set a $75.00 price target on Ventas in a research note on Friday, March 7th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.