Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd trimmed its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 68.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,496 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 9,852 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd's holdings in Ventas were worth $265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 862.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,932,017 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $252,160,000 after purchasing an additional 3,523,594 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Ventas by 105.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,420,322 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $347,605,000 after buying an additional 2,778,408 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Ventas by 4.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,364,810 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,498,385,000 after buying an additional 982,795 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,671,227 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,710,426,000 after acquiring an additional 581,870 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VTR shares. Argus set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Ventas in a research report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho raised their target price on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.90.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on VTR
Ventas Stock Down 0.9 %
Shares of VTR traded down $0.60 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $67.61. The company had a trading volume of 3,428,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,418,451. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $64.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Ventas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.45 and a 1 year high of $71.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 355.86, a P/E/G 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 earnings per share (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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.
Ventas Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed 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 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas's payout ratio is currently 1,010.53%.
Insider Activity
In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total value of $27,548.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,128,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,098,153. This trade represents a 0.03 % 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 worth $17,769,097. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.
About Ventas
(
Free Report)
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.
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