Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Sells 66,949 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC decreased its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 83.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,098 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 66,949 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Ventas were worth $771,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VTR. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 34,973 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,060,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its position in Ventas by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 5,186 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,221 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,644 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,171 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $187,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company'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. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction of $27,548.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,128,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $80,098,153. The trade was a 0.03 % 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 three months. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

Ventas stock traded up $0.90 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $70.04. The stock had a trading volume of 3,336,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,685,950. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.64 and a fifty-two week high of $71.36. The company has a market cap of $30.66 billion, a PE ratio of 368.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day moving average of $67.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.02. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is 1,010.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Four equities 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.90.

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.