Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Shares Bought by Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 63,500.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,452 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 4,445 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. boosted its position in Ventas by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 27,411 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,614,000 after purchasing an additional 1,197 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 40.4% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 225,367 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,272,000 after buying an additional 64,877 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $583,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 192,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,356,000 after buying an additional 17,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 61,405 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,616,000 after buying an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total value of $27,548.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,128,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,098,153. This trade represents a 0.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VTR. Argus set a $75.00 target price on Ventas in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wedbush raised their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.90.

Ventas Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of VTR opened at $66.91 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. 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. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.45 and a 52-week high of $71.04.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. 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 of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1,010.53%.

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.