Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 123,937 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,028,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 123,937 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $296,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Ventas by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the third quarter worth $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VTR. 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird upgraded 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. Mizuho decreased their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Baird R W raised Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.14.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction of $27,548.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,128,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,098,153. This trade represents a 0.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

VTR opened at $70.50 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $30.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 371.07, a PEG 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. The business has a 50 day moving average of $61.81 and a 200-day moving average of $62.51.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is 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.