Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 322,812 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 7,012 shares during the period. Ventas accounts for approximately 1.8% of Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Ventas worth $19,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth about $340,282,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Ventas by 1,489.5% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,456,112 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $85,750,000 after buying an additional 1,364,504 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,501,010 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,916,244,000 after buying an additional 912,813 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,499,228 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $147,180,000 after acquiring an additional 896,717 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Ventas by 2.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,557,480 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,767,261,000 after acquiring an additional 599,600 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on VTR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.90.

Ventas Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:VTR traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $68.18. The company had a trading volume of 1,113,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,680,256. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $67.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.73. Ventas, Inc. has a 52 week low of $43.34 and a 52 week high of $71.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $29.84 billion, a PE ratio of 358.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1,010.53%.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 trade represents a 0.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 transaction of $243,558.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 304,778 shares of company stock worth $20,934,891 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.