Savant Capital LLC Acquires New Stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Savant Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,937 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VTR. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Ventas in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 3rd quarter worth $64,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company’s 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 owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of VTR stock opened at $66.72 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $59.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.68. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.45 and a twelve month high of $67.61. The company has a market capitalization of $27.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -392.44, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a negative net margin of 1.38% and a negative return on equity of 0.69%. Research analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 1,010.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird raised Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $69.14.

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.