Swiss National Bank Trims Stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Swiss National Bank decreased its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,171,668 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 29,700 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.28% of Ventas worth $69,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VTR. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Ventas by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 15,006 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 127,422 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $8,172,000 after purchasing an additional 3,468 shares during the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the third quarter worth about $207,000. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of Ventas by 38.6% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,563 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 12.0% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 12,881 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $826,000 after buying an additional 1,381 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Argus set a $75.00 price target on Ventas in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Four equities research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total transaction of $14,645,401.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,138,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,644,115.46. This trade represents a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of VTR opened at $66.91 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.45 and a 12 month high of $71.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $62.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.89. 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 has a market cap of $29.25 billion, a PE ratio of 352.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. Equities analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s 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.