Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Shares Sold by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 36.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,965 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 5,689 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $587,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VTR. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in Ventas by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 4,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 54.2% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,495 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,892,000 after acquiring an additional 10,365 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Ventas in the third quarter valued at $241,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Ventas by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 302,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $19,428,000 after purchasing an additional 10,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in Ventas by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 34,801 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,232,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VTR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Argus set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Ventas in a report on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Four 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, Ventas has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,644,115.46. This trade represents a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of VTR stock opened at $68.02 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.45 and a 1 year high of $71.04. 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 firm has a market cap of $29.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 358.00, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $64.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.25.

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

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1,010.53%.

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.