Westpac Banking Corp Sells 21,289 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Westpac Banking Corp cut its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 14.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 127,125 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 21,289 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Ventas were worth $7,486,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ventas in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ventas in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Ventas by 1,039.4% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Ventas Stock Up 1.8 %

VTR traded up $1.14 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $65.30. 1,154,838 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,617,935. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 342.45, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $65.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.40. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.45 and a 12-month high of $71.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

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Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 2.94%. Ventas's payout ratio is currently 1,010.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Baird R W raised shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Argus set a $75.00 price target on Ventas in a research note 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.90.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total value of $14,645,401.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,138,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $77,644,115.46. The trade was a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 304,778 shares of company stock valued at $20,934,891 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.