Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Sells 4,495 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI cut its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 50.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,359 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,495 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Ventas were worth $256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 66.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the third quarter worth about $64,000. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ventas Stock Up 1.0 %

VTR stock opened at $70.50 on Thursday. 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. The business has a 50 day moving average of $61.81 and a 200 day moving average of $62.51. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.45 and a twelve month high of $71.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 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, research analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.48 dividend. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1,010.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 41,294 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total value of $2,852,589.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,138,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,622,918.44. The trade was a 3.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on VTR shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank raised their target price 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 lowered their target price 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.14.

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.