Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Position Lowered by Vident Advisory LLC

Vident Advisory LLC reduced its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 33.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,784 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 15,678 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Ventas were worth $1,872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Ventas by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,501,010 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,916,244,000 after acquiring an additional 912,813 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Ventas by 2.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 599,600 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ventas by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,948,546 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $643,207,000 after purchasing an additional 537,253 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Ventas by 60.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,207,553 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $365,563,000 after purchasing an additional 2,347,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,133,172 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $361,184,000 after purchasing an additional 335,192 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of VTR opened at $63.68 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 335.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95. The stock's fifty day moving average is $66.75 and its 200-day moving average is $63.94. Ventas, Inc. has a one year low of $46.66 and a one year high of $71.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Ventas's payout ratio is currently 581.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 9,110 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.04, for a total value of $601,624.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $75,661,697.80. This trade represents a 0.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.76, for a total transaction of $93,025.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,454 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,750,467.04. This trade represents a 5.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 311,481 shares of company stock worth $21,385,983 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wedbush lifted 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. Scotiabank lifted 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. Mizuho increased their price target on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.00.

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.

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