Bank of Stockton Sells 2,000 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Bank of Stockton lowered its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 33.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. Bank of Stockton’s holdings in Ventas were worth $236,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted 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 during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,000. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTR opened at $66.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $29.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 352.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.82. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.45 and a fifty-two week high of $67.61.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its 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 net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued 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 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 947.42%.

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 transaction of $243,558.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Baird R W raised shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average 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.