Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Lowers Stock Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lessened its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 36.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,965 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 5,689 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Ventas were worth $587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in Ventas by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 34,973 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,060,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 5,186 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,221 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Ventas by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,947 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $468,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank lifted its holdings in Ventas by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 3,308 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Ventas Price Performance

Shares of VTR traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $69.30. 4,524,601 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,588,946. 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 has a 50 day moving average of $65.37 and a 200-day moving average of $63.31. The stock has a market cap of $30.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 364.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. This is a boost from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is 1,010.53%.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total value of $27,548.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,128,143 shares in the company, valued at $80,098,153. This trade represents a 0.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VTR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.