National Pension Service Sells 77,615 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

National Pension Service lessened its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 538,911 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 77,615 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.13% of Ventas worth $31,736,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter worth $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 in the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the third quarter worth $64,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter worth $67,000. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VTR shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective 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. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ventas currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,644,115.46. This represents a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of VTR stock opened at $69.18 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $30.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 364.12, 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 current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $61.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.26. Ventas, Inc. has a one year low of $41.45 and a one year high of $69.25.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analysts predict 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. Shareholders 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 represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. This is a boost from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1,010.53%.

Ventas Company 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.