Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 2,611 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 29.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,180 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,611 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ventas were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Ventas by 2.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,557,480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,767,261,000 after acquiring an additional 599,600 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Ventas by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,671,227 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,710,426,000 after purchasing an additional 581,870 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Ventas by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,364,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,498,385,000 after purchasing an additional 982,795 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,411,293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $665,559,000 after purchasing an additional 245,922 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 105.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,420,322 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $347,605,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,408 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ventas Stock Up 1.6 %

VTR stock opened at $70.32 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.38. The company has a market cap of $30.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 370.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.45 and a fifty-two week high of $71.00.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. This is a positive change 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VTR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 $77,644,115.46. This represents a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.