TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Makes New $1.86 Million Investment in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 31,600 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,861,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new position in Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Ventas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTR traded up $0.69 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $69.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 686,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,028,662. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $43.64 and a 12 month high of $71.36. The firm has a market cap of $30.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 364.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $67.57 and a 200-day moving average of $63.84.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Ventas's payout ratio is 1,010.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four 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, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.90.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,644,115.46. This represents a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 304,778 shares of company stock valued at $20,934,891 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.