GRS Advisors LLC Purchases 558,259 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

GRS Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 832.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 625,293 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 558,259 shares during the period. Ventas makes up about 3.6% of GRS Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. GRS Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Ventas worth $36,824,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Ventas by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 9,952 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $634,000 after purchasing an additional 1,550 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake 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 valued at $1,767,261,000 after buying an additional 599,600 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Ventas by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 29,933 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,756,000 after buying an additional 1,369 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Ventas by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ventas Stock Up 0.6 %

VTR stock opened at $65.96 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.66 and a 1-year high of $71.36. The stock has a market cap of $28.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 347.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $67.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.98. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. The business's revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas's payout ratio is presently 581.82%.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the firm'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 $77,644,115.46. This trade represents a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 313,888 shares of company stock valued at $21,536,515. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.00.

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.

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