Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Boosts Stock Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,851,476 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 4,920 shares during the period. Ventas comprises about 2.0% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $167,923,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VTR. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at $340,282,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 862.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,932,017 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $252,160,000 after acquiring an additional 3,523,594 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Ventas by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,501,010 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,916,244,000 after purchasing an additional 912,813 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,557,480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,767,261,000 after buying an additional 599,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,671,227 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,710,426,000 after buying an additional 581,870 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Argus set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Ventas in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Baird R W raised shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.90.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,373. The trade was 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 the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,644,115.46. The trade was a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VTR opened at $68.02 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $64.79 and a 200-day moving average of $63.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.45 and a fifty-two week high of $71.04. The stock has a market cap of $29.73 billion, a PE ratio of 358.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37.

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, 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. 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 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.