ING Groep NV Lowers Stock Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

ING Groep NV reduced its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 60.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 107,080 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 162,275 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Ventas were worth $6,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ventas in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 66.2% in the 4th 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 last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ventas in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Ventas in the 3rd quarter valued at $64,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ventas in the 4th quarter valued at $69,000. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VTR. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.14.

Ventas Stock Performance

Ventas stock opened at $66.08 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.45 and a 12-month high of $67.61. The company has a market capitalization of $28.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 347.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $60.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.90.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its quarterly 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. Ventas’s payout ratio is 947.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company’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 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 this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.