Metis Global Partners LLC Has $3.61 Million Stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 61,304 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,338 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Ventas were worth $3,610,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the 3rd quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter worth about $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE VTR opened at $69.18 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.26. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.45 and a fifty-two week high of $69.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 364.12, a P/E/G 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.

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

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. 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 at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total value of $14,645,401.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,138,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,644,115.46. This represents a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VTR has been the topic of several research reports. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Baird R W raised shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ventas presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target 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.