TCW Group Inc. Purchases 384 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

TCW Group Inc. grew its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 83,756 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $4,932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the third quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ventas Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of VTR opened at $66.08 on Monday. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.45 and a fifty-two week high of $67.61. 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $60.20 and its 200 day moving average is $61.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.88 billion, a PE ratio of 347.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1,010.53%.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VTR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Baird R W raised Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.14.

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.