Impax Asset Management Group plc Acquires 341,510 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 779.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 385,324 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 341,510 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in Ventas were worth $22,692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Ventas by 81.2% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 104,646 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,711,000 after purchasing an additional 46,887 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Ventas by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 20,421 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,310,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Ventas by 7,539.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 198,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $12,733,000 after acquiring an additional 195,947 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Ventas by 49.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,163 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $523,000 after acquiring an additional 2,719 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ventas by 3.3% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,541 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $612,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on VTR. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho cut their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush increased their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Baird R W raised Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $69.14.

Ventas Price Performance

NYSE:VTR opened at $67.81 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $60.36 and its 200 day moving average is $62.02. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.45 and a 12 month high of $68.02. The company has a market capitalization of $29.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 356.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (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 forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1,010.53%.

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.