Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Grows Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 48.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,703 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ventas were worth $158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas 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 directly owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total value of $27,548.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,128,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,098,153. The trade was a 0.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VTR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Baird R W raised Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two 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.com, Ventas presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.14.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTR opened at $67.75 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.45 and a 1-year high of $71.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $61.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.55. The company has a market capitalization of $29.61 billion, a PE ratio of 356.58, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued 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 return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1,010.53%.

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.