Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 66,501,010 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 912,813 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 15.85% of Ventas worth $3,916,244,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VTR. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Ventas in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 66.2% during 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 last quarter. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ventas in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Ventas by 1,039.4% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ventas Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of VTR stock traded down $0.60 on Tuesday, reaching $67.61. The company had a trading volume of 3,428,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,414,687. The stock has a market cap of $29.56 billion, a PE ratio of 355.86, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50-day moving average of $64.21 and a 200-day moving average of $63.15. 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.

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Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VTR shares. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush upped 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. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Argus set a $75.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.90.

Insider Activity

In other Ventas news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 11,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total value 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 $80,098,153. The trade was a 0.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety 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.

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.