Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Price Target Raised to $75.00

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) had its target price raised by Mizuho from $68.00 to $75.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Argus set a $75.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ventas currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.90.

Ventas Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:VTR opened at $67.67 on Tuesday. 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 $29.58 billion, a PE ratio of 356.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. Ventas has a 52 week low of $41.45 and a 52 week high of $71.04. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.07.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its 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, research analysts expect that Ventas will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s payout ratio is 1,010.53%.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 owns 1,128,143 shares in the company, valued at $80,098,153. This represents a 0.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at $716,373. This trade 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 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ventas

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Ventas by 66.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.