Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $1.10 Billion Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,641,375 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 233,630 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 4.44% of Ventas worth $1,097,801,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 962 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth about $69,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in Ventas by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 791,706 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $46,623,000 after purchasing an additional 15,151 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of Ventas stock opened at $66.57 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.45 and a 12 month high of $67.61.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued 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 negative return on equity of 0.69% and a negative net margin of 1.38%. Research analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This is a boost from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is presently -1,058.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VTR shares. Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $69.14.

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.