Prudential Financial Inc. Has $59.70 Million Stock Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 40.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,013,817 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 682,749 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $59,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Ventas by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird raised Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Argus set a $75.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.90.

Ventas Stock Performance

NYSE VTR opened at $68.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $29.81 billion, a PE ratio of 358.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $64.21 and a 200-day moving average of $63.15. 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 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 2.82%. Ventas’s payout ratio is 1,010.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now 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 ownership of the stock. 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 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.