Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,641,375 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 233,630 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $1,097,801,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 62.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tandem Capital Management Corp ADV now owns 27,730 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,778,000 after buying an additional 10,620 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 332,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,310,000 after purchasing an additional 24,300 shares during the period. abrdn plc boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 961,359 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $61,878,000 after purchasing an additional 214,384 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 480.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 26,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 21,700 shares during the period. Finally, Presima Securities ULC boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 38.0% during the 4th quarter. Presima Securities ULC now owns 439,942 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,908,000 after purchasing an additional 121,193 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on VTR. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Two 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ventas currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $69.14.

Ventas Stock Performance

Ventas stock opened at $66.57 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.55. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.45 and a fifty-two week high of $67.61.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a negative return on equity of 0.69% and a negative net margin of 1.38%. As a group, analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,058.76%.

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.