Transce3nd LLC Invests $48,000 in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 812 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $48,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 66.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

VTR stock opened at $68.30 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.66. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $42.88 and a 12-month high of $71.36. The firm has a market cap of $29.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 359.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. This is a boost from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 1,010.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VTR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Four 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total value of $14,645,401.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,138,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,644,115.46. This trade represents a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 304,778 shares of company stock valued at $20,934,891. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.