Victory Capital Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 18.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 151,005 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 23,583 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $8,893,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in Ventas by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 332,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,310,000 after acquiring an additional 24,300 shares during the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its position in Ventas by 480.7% in the third quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 26,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 21,700 shares during the last quarter. Presima Securities ULC raised its stake in Ventas by 38.0% during the fourth quarter. Presima Securities ULC now owns 439,942 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,908,000 after purchasing an additional 121,193 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Ventas by 5.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,904,078 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $314,499,000 after purchasing an additional 231,352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 302,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $19,428,000 after buying an additional 10,134 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VTR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird raised Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush boosted their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.20.

Ventas Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE VTR opened at $66.26 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $28.97 billion, a PE ratio of 348.77, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.45 and a 12 month high of $71.04. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $62.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 2.90%. Ventas’s payout ratio is 1,010.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction of $27,548.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,128,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,098,153. This represents a 0.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.