Gregory R. Liebbe Sells 3,866 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Stock

Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Ventas Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE VTR opened at $66.82 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $29.21 billion, a PE ratio of 351.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.37. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.45 and a 12-month high of $67.61. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 947.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ventas during the fourth quarter worth $340,282,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Ventas by 862.7% during 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 buying an additional 3,523,594 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Ventas by 105.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,420,322 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $347,605,000 after buying an additional 2,778,408 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Ventas by 60.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,207,553 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $365,563,000 after buying an additional 2,347,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rush Island Management LP raised its holdings in Ventas by 130.6% during the fourth quarter. Rush Island Management LP now owns 3,097,830 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $182,431,000 after buying an additional 1,754,494 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on VTR shares. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush upped their price objective 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. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $69.14.

About Ventas

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.