Intact Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $3,634,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,557,480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,767,261,000 after buying an additional 599,600 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Ventas by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,671,227 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,710,426,000 after purchasing an additional 581,870 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Ventas by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,364,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,498,385,000 after purchasing an additional 982,795 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ventas by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,411,293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $665,559,000 after purchasing an additional 245,922 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Ventas by 105.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,420,322 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $347,605,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,408 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

VTR stock opened at $66.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $29.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 352.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $62.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.88.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1,010.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VTR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Argus set a $75.00 target price on Ventas in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total value of $27,548.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,128,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,098,153. This represents a 0.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company 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.