Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires New Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 162,565 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $9,573,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings 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 worth $2,060,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised 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 buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Ventas by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,128,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $80,098,153. This represents a 0.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.90.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTR traded down $0.60 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $67.61. 3,428,661 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,411,512. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Ventas, Inc. has a one year low of $41.45 and a one year high of $71.04. The company has a market cap of $29.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 355.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $64.21 and a 200 day moving average of $63.15.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. Ventas's payout ratio is currently 1,010.53%.

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.