LPL Financial LLC Purchases 11,767 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 226,381 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 11,767 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.05% of Ventas worth $13,332,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

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Insider Activity at Ventas

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total transaction of $14,645,401.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at $77,644,115.46. This represents a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 304,778 shares of company stock worth $20,934,891 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Baird R W raised Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Argus set a $75.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a research report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.90.

Ventas Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of VTR traded down $1.39 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $64.12. The stock had a trading volume of 4,134,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,625,822. The stock's 50 day moving average is $65.93 and its 200 day moving average is $63.40. The firm has a market cap of $28.06 billion, a PE ratio of 337.50, 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 current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Ventas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.45 and a 1 year high of $71.36.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. As a group, analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.48 per share. This is a positive change from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.