Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Stake Lessened by New York Life Investment Management LLC

New York Life Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 44.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 62,060 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 48,669 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ventas were worth $3,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VTR. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 49.9% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,163 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $523,000 after buying an additional 2,719 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in Ventas by 9.2% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 13,673 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management bought a new stake in Ventas during the third quarter valued at $234,000. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Ventas by 3.5% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 20,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in Ventas by 18.0% during the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 5,170 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of VTR opened at $69.18 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.45 and a 1 year high of $69.25. The company has a market cap of $30.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 364.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. 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 fifty day moving average of $61.14 and a 200-day moving average of $62.26.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 1,010.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ventas news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the business’s 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 owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on VTR. 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 research note on Thursday, December 5th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.14.

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.