Cohen & Steers Inc. Buys 18,294 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 37.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 66,584 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,294 shares during the quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $3,921,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ventas by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 71,790 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,228,000 after acquiring an additional 9,102 shares during the period. Paralel Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,239,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 195,351 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,504,000 after purchasing an additional 13,460 shares in the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its position in Ventas by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 18,236 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 1,311 shares during the period. Finally, Waddell & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in Ventas during the fourth quarter worth $381,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird raised Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Four research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were 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 owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at $77,644,115.46. This represents a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 304,778 shares of company stock valued at $20,934,891 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of VTR stock opened at $67.46 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $66.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.45 and a 52-week high of $71.36. The stock has a market cap of $29.52 billion, a PE ratio of 355.07, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1,010.53%.

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.