Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Purchases 2,144 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 81,505 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 2,144 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Ventas were worth $4,769,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd boosted its stake in Ventas by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 1,483,586 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $87,375,000 after purchasing an additional 33,670 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc boosted its stake in Ventas by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 106,468 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,270,000 after purchasing an additional 21,721 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Ventas in the 4th quarter worth about $8,335,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ventas by 726.8% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,267 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 4,630 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ventas by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,166 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VTR opened at $66.91 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $29.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 352.19, 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.45 and a 1-year high of $71.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $62.98 and its 200 day moving average is $62.89.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS 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 paid a $0.48 dividend. This is a boost from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s payout ratio is 1,010.53%.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $716,373. The trade was 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. 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 value of $27,548.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,128,143 shares in the company, valued at $80,098,153. This represents a 0.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VTR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Argus set a $75.00 target price on Ventas in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Four 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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.