Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. reduced its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 36.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,965 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 5,689 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $587,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 738 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ventas Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of VTR opened at $68.02 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.45 and a 12-month high of $71.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 358.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $64.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given 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 2.82%. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s payout ratio is currently 1,010.53%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the business’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 value of $14,645,401.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,644,115.46. The trade was a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on VTR. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Argus set a $75.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Four investment 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ventas currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.90.

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.