Invesco Ltd. Reduces Stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Invesco Ltd. lowered its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,848,216 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 51,532 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 0.92% of Ventas worth $226,621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Ventas by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,501,010 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,916,244,000 after purchasing an additional 912,813 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 2.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,557,480 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,767,261,000 after buying an additional 599,600 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,948,546 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $643,207,000 after buying an additional 537,253 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,802,402 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $341,703,000 after acquiring an additional 382,080 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at $340,282,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Ventas Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Ventas stock traded up $0.40 on Tuesday, reaching $67.80. 2,599,594 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,656,875. The firm's 50-day moving average is $66.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.47. The company has a market capitalization of $29.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 356.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02. 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 $71.36.

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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is currently 1,010.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Baird R W raised Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.90.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction of $27,548.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the business's 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 directly owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 304,778 shares of company stock valued at $20,934,891. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.