Bank of Stockton Has $236,000 Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Bank of Stockton decreased its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 33.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Bank of Stockton’s holdings in Ventas were worth $236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Ventas by 2.1% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,120 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $521,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 34,973 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in Ventas by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,221 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank raised its position in Ventas by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 3,308 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Ventas by 66.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ventas Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Ventas stock opened at $66.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 352.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.82. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.45 and a 12-month high of $67.61.

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

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. This is a boost from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 947.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on VTR shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ventas has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $69.14.

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.