Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Stock Holdings Lifted by Land & Buildings Investment Management LLC

Land & Buildings Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 25.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 694,376 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 142,680 shares during the period. Ventas accounts for about 8.3% of Land & Buildings Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Land & Buildings Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ventas were worth $40,892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 4th quarter worth $340,282,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 60.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,207,553 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $365,563,000 after acquiring an additional 2,347,705 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 1,489.5% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,456,112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $85,750,000 after acquiring an additional 1,364,504 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Ventas by 1,196.0% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,166,840 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $68,737,000 after purchasing an additional 1,076,803 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ventas by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,501,010 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,916,244,000 after purchasing an additional 912,813 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 44,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.06, for a total value of $3,165,794.06. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at $81,413,086.70. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 313,888 shares of company stock worth $21,536,515. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ventas Stock Up 0.6%

VTR opened at $65.96 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $67.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $29.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 347.18, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95. Ventas, Inc. has a one year low of $46.66 and a one year high of $71.36.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.02. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 yield of 2.91%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is 581.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wedbush raised 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

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.