Inceptionr LLC Buys 21,415 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Inceptionr LLC grew its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 240.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,309 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,415 shares during the quarter. Inceptionr LLC’s holdings in Ventas were worth $1,785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 valued at $1,767,261,000 after acquiring an additional 599,600 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 2.2% during 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. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 4.4% during 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. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 2.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,411,293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $665,559,000 after acquiring an additional 245,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 105.2% during 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. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ventas Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:VTR opened at $70.50 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 371.07, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.51. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.45 and a 52-week high of $71.04.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. Analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1,010.53%.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred 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. The trade was a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VTR. Wedbush raised their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Scotiabank increased 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. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $71.14.

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.