J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Buys Shares of 40,211 Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG bought a new stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 40,211 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $2,368,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ventas during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Ventas by 1,039.4% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VTR shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Argus set a $75.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective 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. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.90.

Ventas Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of VTR stock traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $68.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,113,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,680,268. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.84 billion, a PE ratio of 358.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $67.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.77. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $43.34 and a 52-week high of $71.36.

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

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. This is a boost from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas's payout ratio is 1,010.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company's 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 44,551 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.06, for a total value of $3,165,794.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $81,413,086.70. The trade was a 3.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 304,778 shares of company stock valued at $20,934,891. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.