Proficio Capital Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 97,668 Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 97,668 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $5,752,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VTR. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Ventas by 862.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,932,017 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $252,160,000 after purchasing an additional 3,523,594 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $347,605,000 after acquiring an additional 2,778,408 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 4.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,364,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,498,385,000 after acquiring an additional 982,795 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 2.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,557,480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,767,261,000 after acquiring an additional 599,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,710,426,000 after acquiring an additional 581,870 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ventas Trading Up 0.8 %

VTR opened at $66.91 on Monday. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.45 and a 12 month high of $71.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 352.19, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $62.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.91.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Ventas news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 41,294 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total value of $2,852,589.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,622,918.44. This represents a 3.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VTR has been the topic of several research reports. Scotiabank raised their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Argus set a $75.00 target price on Ventas in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.20.

Ventas Company 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.