Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 682,749 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 40.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,013,817 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 682,749 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.24% of Ventas worth $59,704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VTR. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Ventas by 11.9% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,040 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ventas in the third quarter worth approximately $224,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ventas by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 60,052 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,177 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in shares of Ventas by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 4,497 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 309 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 54.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,495 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,892,000 after buying an additional 10,365 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company's stock.

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Ventas Stock Performance

VTR traded up $0.77 during trading on Friday, hitting $68.74. The stock had a trading volume of 4,211,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,573,277. The firm has a market cap of $30.05 billion, a PE ratio of 361.81, 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 12 month low of $41.45 and a 12 month high of $71.04. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.27.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. 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 currently 1,010.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VTR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.90.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction of $27,548.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,128,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $80,098,153. This represents a 0.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.