Net Worth Advisory Group Increases Stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Net Worth Advisory Group boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 48.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,836 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,871 shares during the quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group’s holdings in Ventas were worth $520,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Ventas by 66.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Ventas by 1,039.4% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction of $27,548.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,128,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,098,153. The trade was a 0.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, 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 Price Performance

Ventas stock opened at $67.54 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $62.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.73. Ventas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.45 and a 1 year high of $71.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 355.47, 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 quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (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 research analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. This is a boost from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1,010.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on VTR. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target 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. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.44.

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.