Banco Santander S.A. Sells 1,666 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Banco Santander S.A. lessened its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,141 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,666 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $1,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of VTR. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VTR shares. Mizuho dropped their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Argus upgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company’s 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 $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total value of $27,548.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,128,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,098,153. The trade was a 0.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of Ventas stock opened at $67.84 on Monday. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 357.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. Ventas, Inc. has a one year low of $41.45 and a one year high of $71.04.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Ventas’s payout ratio is 1,010.53%.

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.