Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Shares Bought by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 1,489.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,456,112 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 1,364,504 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.35% of Ventas worth $85,750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Ventas by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,557,480 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,767,261,000 after purchasing an additional 599,600 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,948,546 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $643,207,000 after purchasing an additional 537,253 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,802,402 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $341,703,000 after purchasing an additional 382,080 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at about $340,282,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ventas Stock Up 0.2 %

Ventas stock traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $67.79. 2,903,497 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,677,659. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $67.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.59. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $42.66 and a 12 month high of $71.36. The company has a market cap of $29.67 billion, a PE ratio of 356.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. As a group, analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. Ventas's payout ratio is currently 1,010.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total transaction of $14,645,401.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,644,115.46. This represents a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 304,778 shares of company stock valued at $20,934,891. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on VTR. Wedbush increased their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Argus set a $75.00 target price on Ventas in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.90.

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.