CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Purchases 198 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Ventas were worth $381,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $3,916,244,000 after purchasing an additional 912,813 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Ventas by 2.2% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 599,600 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in 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 valued at $1,710,426,000 after acquiring an additional 581,870 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ventas by 2.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,411,293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $665,559,000 after acquiring an additional 245,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter worth about $340,282,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 1,138,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,644,115.46. The trade was a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ventas Stock Down 5.8 %

Shares of NYSE VTR opened at $65.55 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $65.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.39. 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 52-week low of $41.45 and a 52-week high of $71.36. The company has a market capitalization of $28.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 345.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. 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 yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s payout ratio is presently 1,010.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VTR. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Argus set a $75.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. 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, Wedbush increased their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. 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 MarketBeat.com, Ventas has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.90.

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.