D.A. Davidson & CO. Has $2.06 Million Stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,973 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 172 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $2,060,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Ventas by 66.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the third quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter worth about $69,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE:VTR opened at $66.08 on Friday. 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 has a market cap of $28.88 billion, a PE ratio of 347.79, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.37. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.45 and a 52-week high of $67.61. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.90.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 947.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VTR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

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 stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value 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 trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Company 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.