Amundi Purchases 24,483 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Amundi boosted its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,306,904 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,483 shares during the period. Amundi’s holdings in Ventas were worth $76,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Ventas in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position 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 worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the firm’s 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. This trade represents a 0.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of VTR stock opened at $66.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $29.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 350.53, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s 50 day moving average is $62.49 and its 200 day moving average is $62.78. 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 52-week low of $41.45 and a 52-week high of $71.04.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1,010.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VTR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Scotiabank raised 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. Baird R W raised shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Argus set a $75.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a research report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned 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 price target of $72.20.

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.