Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Shares Sold by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp lowered its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 18.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,952 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,600 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Ventas were worth $1,175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 66.2% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ventas in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Ventas during the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Ventas during the fourth quarter worth about $69,000. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on VTR shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.14.

Ventas Trading Up 2.6 %

VTR stock opened at $67.81 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $29.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 356.93, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.02. Ventas, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.45 and a 52 week high of $68.02.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 research analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.48 per share. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Ventas’s payout ratio is presently 1,010.53%.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.