Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Takes $8.34 Million Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 141,534 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $8,335,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Ventas in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 66.2% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position 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 worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush boosted their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Argus set a $75.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.20.

Ventas Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of VTR stock opened at $66.91 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $29.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 352.19, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.89. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.45 and a 52 week high of $71.04.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s payout ratio is currently 1,010.53%.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction of $27,548.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,128,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,098,153. The trade was a 0.03 % 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 valued at $17,769,097 over the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.