Tredje AP fonden Sells 31,794 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Tredje AP fonden decreased its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 50.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 31,795 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 31,794 shares during the quarter. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in Ventas were worth $1,872,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Ventas by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,557,480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,767,261,000 after buying an additional 599,600 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Ventas by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,671,227 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,710,426,000 after buying an additional 581,870 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Ventas by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,364,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,498,385,000 after buying an additional 982,795 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ventas by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,411,293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $665,559,000 after buying an additional 245,922 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Ventas by 105.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,420,322 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $347,605,000 after buying an additional 2,778,408 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE VTR opened at $66.91 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $62.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 352.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.45 and a 12-month high of $71.04.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. On average, equities research 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 $0.48 dividend. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is 1,010.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total transaction 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 $77,644,115.46. This trade represents a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VTR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Baird R W raised shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ventas has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.