Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Buys 28,013 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 135.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,732 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 28,013 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in Ventas were worth $2,870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VTR. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Ventas by 66.2% in the 4th 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 period. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Ventas by 1,039.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VTR shares. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird raised 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. Mizuho increased their target price on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.00.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 313,888 shares of company stock worth $21,536,515. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Ventas Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE VTR traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $65.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,713,033 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,704,121. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.66 and a 12-month high of $71.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $28.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 347.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95. The business's 50 day moving average is $67.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.98.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. The business's revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

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

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.