Intact Investment Management Inc. Acquires 1,300 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Intact Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $3,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ventas Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:VTR opened at $66.91 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.45 and a 1 year high of $71.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.25 billion, a PE ratio of 352.19, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s payout ratio is currently 1,010.53%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 1,128,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,098,153. This represents a 0.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VTR. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush lifted their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ventas currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.20.

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.