Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Shares Sold by Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 68.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,496 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 9,852 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Ventas were worth $265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VTR. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Ventas during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Ventas by 1,039.4% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

NYSE VTR opened at $66.91 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $64.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.10. The company has a market capitalization of $29.25 billion, a PE ratio of 352.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.45 and a twelve month high of $71.04.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 EPS 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1,010.53%.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % 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 link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097 in the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VTR has been the topic of several research reports. Argus set a $75.00 target price on Ventas in a report on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Mizuho upped their target price on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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 research 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.90.

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.