Bamco Inc. NY Boosts Stock Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Bamco Inc. NY boosted its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 210,911 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 13,490 shares during the quarter. Bamco Inc. NY owned about 0.05% of Ventas worth $12,421,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ventas by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,501,010 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,916,244,000 after acquiring an additional 912,813 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,557,480 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,767,261,000 after purchasing an additional 599,600 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Ventas by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,948,546 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $643,207,000 after purchasing an additional 537,253 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Ventas by 60.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,207,553 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $365,563,000 after purchasing an additional 2,347,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Ventas by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,133,172 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $361,184,000 after buying an additional 335,192 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VTR traded up $0.26 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $66.09. 3,132,524 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,706,353. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 347.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.66 and a 52-week high of $71.36. 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 $67.47 and a 200-day moving average of $63.97.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. Analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is a boost from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 581.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ventas news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 9,110 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.04, for a total value of $601,624.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $75,661,697.80. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 313,888 shares of company stock valued at $21,536,515. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho lifted 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. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.00.

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.