DF Dent & Co. Inc. Sells 1,025 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

DF Dent & Co. Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 11.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,945 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,025 shares during the period. DF Dent & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $468,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VTR. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 66.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Ventas by 1,039.4% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Ventas news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,128,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,098,153. The trade was a 0.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of VTR stock opened at $69.59 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $30.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 366.26, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $65.79 and its 200 day moving average is $63.39. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.45 and a 1-year high of $71.36.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. Research analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 1,010.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VTR has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.90.

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.