3,937 Shares in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Purchased by Savant Capital LLC

Savant Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,937 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 12,546 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $739,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 36.3% in the 4th quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 64,853 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,819,000 after purchasing an additional 17,271 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,837 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 128,011 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $7,539,000 after purchasing an additional 7,449 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,423,945 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $83,856,000 after purchasing an additional 94,791 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ventas Stock Down 1.2 %

VTR stock traded down $0.77 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $66.08. 2,113,927 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,554,293. The company has a market cap of $28.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 347.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.37. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $60.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current 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 $67.61.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. This is an increase from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ventas's payout ratio is currently 947.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VTR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ventas news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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.