D.A. Davidson & CO. Has $2.06 Million Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 34,973 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $2,060,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Ventas by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 63,341 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,730,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its stake in Ventas by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 363,918 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,431,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Ventas by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $164,000 after acquiring an additional 962 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in Ventas by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 5,102 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 562 shares during the period. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth $69,000. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on VTR shares. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush raised their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ventas Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of VTR opened at $66.08 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.45 and a 52-week high of $67.61. The business’s fifty day moving average is $60.20 and its 200-day moving average is $61.90. 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 firm has a market cap of $28.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 347.79, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.37.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors 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 represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s payout ratio is currently 947.42%.

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.