Blue Trust Inc. Sells 4,054 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Blue Trust Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 49.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,073 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 4,054 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 66.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the third quarter valued at approximately $64,000. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VTR opened at $66.82 on Thursday. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.45 and a twelve month high of $67.61. The firm has a market cap of $29.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 351.69, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50 day moving average of $59.94 and a 200 day moving average of $61.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. As a group, research analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change 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%. Ventas’s payout ratio is currently 947.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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