Fmr LLC Lowers Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Fmr LLC trimmed its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,904,986 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,459,824 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned about 0.05% of Ventas worth $1,289,985,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VTR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $340,282,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ventas by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,501,010 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,916,244,000 after purchasing an additional 912,813 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,557,480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,767,261,000 after purchasing an additional 599,600 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,948,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $643,207,000 after purchasing an additional 537,253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 2,210.7% during the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 550,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $35,272,000 after purchasing an additional 526,198 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTR opened at $65.55 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 345.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.45 and a 1-year high of $71.36. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.39. 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 issued 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%. Research analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 1,010.53%.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 1,128,143 shares in the company, valued at $80,098,153. The trade was a 0.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VTR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wedbush boosted 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. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Robert W. Baird raised Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Baird R W raised Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Four 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.90.

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.