Ameriprise Financial Inc. Reduces Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. decreased its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 367,791 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 39,055 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.09% of Ventas worth $21,679,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VTR. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 66.2% in the fourth 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 acquired a new stake in Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in 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 valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the period. Finally, Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.76, for a total transaction of $93,025.84. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,454 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,750,467.04. This represents a 5.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction of $27,548.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,128,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,098,153. The trade was a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 311,481 shares of company stock valued at $21,385,983. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Argus set a $75.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Ventas Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of Ventas stock traded up $0.95 on Friday, reaching $65.78. The company had a trading volume of 4,810,734 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,739,804. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $66.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.94. The firm has a market cap of $29.69 billion, a PE ratio of 346.24, a PEG 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 quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. The business's revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 581.82%.

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.