Natixis Sells 417,452 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Natixis lessened its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 57.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 306,727 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 417,452 shares during the quarter. Natixis owned approximately 0.07% of Ventas worth $18,063,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norinchukin Bank The grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 36,439 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,146,000 after buying an additional 1,211 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Ventas by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,104,450 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $359,487,000 after purchasing an additional 138,803 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 111.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 336,204 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $19,799,000 after purchasing an additional 176,958 shares during the last quarter. HGI Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,720,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 14,251 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $839,000 after buying an additional 1,422 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 44,551 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.06, for a total transaction of $3,165,794.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $81,413,086.70. This trade represents a 3.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 304,778 shares of company stock valued at $20,934,891 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Argus set a $75.00 target price on Ventas in a report on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.90.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of VTR traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $68.46. 471,742 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,671,754. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $43.11 and a 1 year high of $71.36. The company has a market cap of $29.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 359.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $67.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.73.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. This is a positive change from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1,010.53%.

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.