6,121 Shares in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Acquired by Stevens Capital Management LP

Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 6,121 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $360,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Ventas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Ventas by 66.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ventas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ventas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew 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. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ventas Stock Down 1.2 %

Ventas stock opened at $66.91 on Monday. 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 stock has a market cap of $29.25 billion, a PE ratio of 352.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $64.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.11.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1,010.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other news, 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 transaction of $27,548.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,128,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,098,153. The trade was a 0.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % 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 worth $17,769,097 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wedbush raised their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Argus set a $75.00 price target on Ventas in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.90.

Ventas 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.