BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Reduces Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S cut its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 80.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,308 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 77,047 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Ventas were worth $1,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Ventas by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,104,450 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $359,487,000 after purchasing an additional 138,803 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Ventas by 111.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 336,204 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $19,799,000 after buying an additional 176,958 shares during the last quarter. HGI Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter worth $5,720,000. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 14,251 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $839,000 after purchasing an additional 1,422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in Ventas by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 951,076 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $55,987,000 after purchasing an additional 95,717 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho increased their price target on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wedbush raised their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.90.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTR traded up $0.06 during trading on Monday, reaching $68.22. The company had a trading volume of 247,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,673,797. 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 fifty day moving average price is $67.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.80. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.64 and a fifty-two week high of $71.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 359.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 research analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.48 dividend. This is a boost from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1,010.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction of $27,548.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,128,143 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 304,778 shares of company stock valued at $20,934,891 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

About Ventas

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.