Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Sells 4,863 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lowered its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 32.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,238 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 4,863 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Ventas were worth $603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new position in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Ventas by 66.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Ventas by 1,039.4% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 304,778 shares of company stock valued at $20,934,891. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Ventas Stock Down 6.4 %

Shares of VTR stock traded down $4.52 on Thursday, hitting $65.56. The stock had a trading volume of 7,755,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,704,956. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.40 and a 12-month high of $71.36. The stock has a market cap of $28.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 345.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a 50 day moving average of $67.70 and a 200 day moving average of $63.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

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

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. This is a boost from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Ventas's payout ratio is presently 581.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Argus set a $75.00 price objective on Ventas in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird raised 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 note on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank boosted their price target 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, Baird R W raised shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.90.

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.