Rothschild Investment LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Rothschild Investment LLC reduced its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 46,241 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,353 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC’s holdings in Ventas were worth $2,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Ventas in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Ventas by 66.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ventas in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the third quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $69,000. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ventas Stock Performance

Ventas stock opened at $66.08 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $60.20 and a 200-day moving average of $61.96. Ventas, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.45 and a 52 week high of $67.61. The stock has a market cap of $28.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 347.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (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%. On average, analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s payout ratio is 1,010.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on VTR shares. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Baird R W raised shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho lowered 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. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the 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 approximately $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 accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.