Carmel Capital Partners LLC Has $468,000 Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Carmel Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 195 shares during the quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Ventas were worth $468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in Ventas by 7.9% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 332,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,310,000 after buying an additional 24,300 shares in the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 480.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 26,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 21,700 shares in the last quarter. Presima Securities ULC boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 38.0% in the 4th quarter. Presima Securities ULC now owns 439,942 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,908,000 after purchasing an additional 121,193 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,904,078 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $314,499,000 after purchasing an additional 231,352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 302,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $19,428,000 after purchasing an additional 10,134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on VTR shares. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush raised their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird raised 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 report on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $71.14.

Ventas Stock Performance

VTR stock opened at $70.50 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $61.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.51. 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 firm has a market cap of $30.82 billion, a PE ratio of 371.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1,010.53%.

Insider Activity

In other Ventas news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were 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 owns 1,138,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,644,115.46. This trade represents a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.