Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Increases Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 63,500.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,452 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 4,445 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.'s holdings in Ventas were worth $262,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in Ventas by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 34,973 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,060,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its position in Ventas by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 5,186 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in Ventas by 17.0% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Ventas by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,947 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank increased its position in Ventas by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 3,308 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total value of $14,645,401.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at $77,644,115.46. The trade was a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VTR has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Argus set a $75.00 price target on Ventas in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Four equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.90.

Ventas Price Performance

VTR stock traded down $0.45 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $67.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,296,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,411,512. 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 12 month low of $41.45 and a 12 month high of $71.04. The company has a 50 day moving average of $64.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 356.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.48 dividend. 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. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.