Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Shares Sold by Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc.

Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 322,812 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 7,012 shares during the quarter. Ventas makes up about 1.8% of Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Ventas worth $19,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter worth $2,368,000. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in Ventas by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 36,597 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,155,000 after buying an additional 2,004 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new stake in Ventas in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,861,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Ventas in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in Ventas by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 21,312 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,255,000 after buying an additional 1,336 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of Ventas 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 directly owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,644,115.46. The trade was a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % 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 worth $20,934,891 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ventas Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Ventas stock traded down $0.23 on Friday, reaching $68.18. 1,113,784 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,683,405. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $43.64 and a 1-year high of $71.36. The company has a market cap of $29.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 358.86, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $67.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.80.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is a positive change from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1,010.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on VTR shares. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. 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 note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.