Proficio Capital Partners LLC Takes $5.75 Million Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 97,668 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $5,752,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 34,973 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,060,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in 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 period. Eastern Bank grew its stake in Ventas by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 3,308 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Ventas by 66.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake 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 period. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

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Ventas Stock Performance

NYSE:VTR traded up $0.09 on Thursday, hitting $67.67. The stock had a trading volume of 3,935,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,388,421. The stock has a market cap of $29.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 356.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $63.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.03. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.45 and a 52-week high of $71.04.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is a boost from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ventas's payout ratio is presently 1,010.53%.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,138,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $77,644,115.46. This trade represents a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas 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 in the company, valued at $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VTR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird raised Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.90.

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.