Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Acquires 555 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 327,415 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the period. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $19,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Ventas by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 20,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR increased its position in shares of Ventas by 18.0% during the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 5,170 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 74.2% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,258 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $209,000 after acquiring an additional 1,388 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Ventas by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 15,006 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $962,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Ventas by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 188,962 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,445,000 after purchasing an additional 23,718 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ventas Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Ventas stock opened at $69.95 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $30.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 368.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. 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 12-month low of $41.45 and a 12-month high of $71.08. The business’s 50 day moving average is $61.58 and its 200-day moving average is $62.46.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. Equities research analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1,010.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on VTR shares. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.