Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 36,069 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 675,633 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 36,069 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.16% of Ventas worth $39,788,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 54.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,495 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,892,000 after buying an additional 10,365 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 3rd quarter valued at about $241,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 302,947 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $19,428,000 after buying an additional 10,134 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in Ventas by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 34,801 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,232,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Ventas during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $80,000. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VTR has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Baird R W raised shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.90.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 41,294 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total value of $2,852,589.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,138,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $78,622,918.44. This trade represents a 3.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Ventas Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:VTR traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $69.57. 1,648,759 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,985,240. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $65.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 366.18, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.45 and a 12-month high of $71.04.

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

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. This is a boost from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is currently 1,010.53%.

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.