Guggenheim Capital LLC Lowers Stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Guggenheim Capital LLC cut its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 76.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,955 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 104,762 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Ventas were worth $1,941,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Ventas during the fourth quarter worth approximately $340,282,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Ventas by 1.4% during 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 during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Ventas by 56.0% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,499,228 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $147,180,000 after purchasing an additional 896,717 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Ventas by 2.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,557,480 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,767,261,000 after purchasing an additional 599,600 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 537,253 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VTR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.90.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total value of $14,645,401.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $77,644,115.46. This represents a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 304,778 shares of company stock valued at $20,934,891. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ventas Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE VTR traded down $0.00 on Friday, reaching $68.41. The stock had a trading volume of 348,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,671,231. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $43.11 and a 12-month high of $71.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $67.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 359.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is currently 1,010.53%.

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.