Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Position Reduced by Wells Fargo & Company MN

Wells Fargo & Company MN trimmed its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 292,582 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 13,549 shares during the quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned about 0.07% of Ventas worth $17,230,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ventas in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 66.2% in the 4th 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 shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $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 valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VTR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Baird R W raised shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush raised their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Four 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.90.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of Ventas stock traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $67.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,903,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,673,711. Ventas, Inc. has a one year low of $42.66 and a one year high of $71.36. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $67.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.59. 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 stock has a market cap of $29.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 356.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. As a group, analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. 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%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is presently 1,010.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ventas news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total value of $27,548.00. Following the sale, 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. Insiders have sold 304,778 shares of company stock valued at $20,934,891 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Ventas Company 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.