Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $9.57 Million in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 162,565 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $9,573,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 2.2% during the third 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. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Ventas by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,671,227 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,710,426,000 after buying an additional 581,870 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Ventas by 4.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,364,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,498,385,000 after buying an additional 982,795 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ventas by 2.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,411,293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $665,559,000 after buying an additional 245,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Ventas by 105.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,420,322 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $347,605,000 after buying an additional 2,778,408 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of Ventas stock opened at $66.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $29.25 billion, a PE ratio of 352.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50 day moving average of $64.00 and a 200 day moving average of $63.10. Ventas, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.45 and a 52 week high of $71.04.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total value of $14,645,401.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,644,115.46. This represents a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho upped their target price on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Four investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.