Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Shares Purchased by Pitcairn Co.

Pitcairn Co. grew its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 124.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,289 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 6,824 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.'s holdings in Ventas were worth $724,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Ventas by 1.2% during the 3rd 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. Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its position in Ventas by 50.6% during 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 last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Ventas by 34.8% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Ventas in the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Ventas by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 175,774 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $11,193,000 after purchasing an additional 10,790 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

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Ventas Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:VTR traded down $0.68 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $64.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,131,278 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,639,515. 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 $41.45 and a 52-week high of $71.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 342.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $66.27 and a 200-day moving average of $63.43.

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, equities analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. This is a boost from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas's payout ratio is currently 1,010.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on VTR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Baird R W raised shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Four research 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.90.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the 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 approximately $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total value 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 trade represents a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders 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.