Candriam S.C.A. Buys 2,321 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Candriam S.C.A. boosted its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,482 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,321 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $2,502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Carmel Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Ventas by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Inceptionr LLC boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 240.8% in the fourth quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 30,309 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,785,000 after acquiring an additional 21,415 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,573,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 120,462 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $7,094,000 after acquiring an additional 4,495 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the company’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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ventas Stock Up 0.2 %

VTR stock opened at $67.84 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $29.66 billion, a PE ratio of 357.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.67. Ventas, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.45 and a 52 week high of $71.04. 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) last issued 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 return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. Ventas’s payout ratio is presently 1,010.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Baird R W raised Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.38.

Ventas Company 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.