Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Boosts Stock Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,411 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,197 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $1,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VTR. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 862.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,932,017 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $252,160,000 after acquiring an additional 3,523,594 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 105.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 2,778,408 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,364,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,498,385,000 after acquiring an additional 982,795 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,557,480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,767,261,000 after acquiring an additional 599,600 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Down 1.2 %

VTR stock opened at $66.91 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.45 and a 12 month high of $71.04. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.10. 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 firm has a market cap of $29.25 billion, a PE ratio of 352.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. Equities research analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 1,010.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total transaction of $14,645,401.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,644,115.46. This represents a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VTR shares. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.90.

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.