Machina Capital S.A.S. Buys Shares of 18,892 Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 18,892 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,113,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VTR. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Ventas by 66.2% in the 4th 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 period. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Ventas by 1,039.4% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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 shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total transaction of $14,645,401.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $77,644,115.46. This trade represents a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VTR traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $66.31. The company had a trading volume of 3,241,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,753,879. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $62.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.78. The stock has a market cap of $28.99 billion, a PE ratio of 349.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. 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 1-year low of $41.45 and a 1-year high of $71.04.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas's payout ratio is 1,010.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VTR shares. Scotiabank raised their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ventas presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.20.

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.