Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank decreased its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,171,668 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 29,700 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Ventas were worth $69,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of VTR. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Ventas by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ventas in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on VTR. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Wedbush boosted their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Argus set a $75.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.20.

Ventas Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE VTR opened at $66.91 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.45 and a 1-year high of $71.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $62.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.89. The company has a market cap of $29.25 billion, a PE ratio of 352.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released 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 return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. 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 2.87%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 1,010.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction of $27,548.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,128,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,098,153. This trade represents a 0.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.