Natixis Lowers Stock Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Natixis trimmed its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 57.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 306,727 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 417,452 shares during the quarter. Natixis owned 0.07% of Ventas worth $18,063,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VTR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,501,010 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,916,244,000 after acquiring an additional 912,813 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 599,600 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,104,450 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $359,487,000 after buying an additional 138,803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 382,080 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on VTR. Robert W. Baird raised Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Four 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.90.

Ventas Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:VTR traded down $0.24 during trading on Thursday, hitting $68.40. 2,216,781 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,675,722. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $67.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 360.02, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $42.88 and a 12-month high of $71.36.

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 (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%. On average, research analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. This is a boost from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Ventas's payout ratio is presently 1,010.53%.

Insider Activity

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 stock was 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 directly owns 11,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 44,551 shares of the business'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 directly owns 1,145,695 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold 304,778 shares of company stock valued at $20,934,891 in the last ninety days. 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.