Insider Selling: Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) CAO Sells 3,866 Shares of Stock

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,373. This represents 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 the SEC website.

Ventas Price Performance

VTR opened at $66.89 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.45 and a 12-month high of $67.61. The company has a market cap of $29.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 352.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 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. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.82.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. Research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given 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 dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s payout ratio is currently 947.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VTR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 research report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Baird R W raised Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $69.14.

Institutional Trading of Ventas

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 2,671.0% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,577 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,484 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Ventas by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 52,798 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,386,000 after purchasing an additional 4,593 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new stake in Ventas during the 3rd quarter valued at about $226,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Ventas by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,639 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $362,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Ventas by 179.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,127 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $521,000 after buying an additional 5,222 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

About Ventas

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.