Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC Sells 378 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,812 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 378 shares during the period. Garrett Wealth Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Ventas were worth $224,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 2.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,557,480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,767,261,000 after buying an additional 599,600 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Ventas by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,671,227 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,710,426,000 after acquiring an additional 581,870 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Ventas by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,364,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,498,385,000 after purchasing an additional 982,795 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,411,293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $665,559,000 after purchasing an additional 245,922 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 105.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,420,322 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $347,605,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,408 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ventas Price Performance

Ventas stock opened at $69.18 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.24 billion, a PE ratio of 364.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.45 and a 12-month high of $69.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $61.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (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, equities research analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS 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 $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is 1,010.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on VTR. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,644,115.46. This represents a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.