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 firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTR traded up $0.19 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $66.72. The stock had a trading volume of 3,394,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,555,377. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.45 and a 1-year high of $67.61. The stock has a market cap of $27.99 billion, a PE ratio of -392.44, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $59.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.68.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced 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 negative net margin of 1.38% and a negative return on equity of 0.69%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1,010.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ventas

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VTR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Ventas during the fourth quarter worth approximately $340,282,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 862.7% during the 3rd 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 period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 105.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,420,322 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $347,605,000 after acquiring an additional 2,778,408 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 60.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,207,553 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $365,563,000 after purchasing an additional 2,347,705 shares during the period. Finally, Rush Island Management LP increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,754,494 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VTR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Baird R W raised Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ventas has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.14.

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.