Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Shares Sold by Cypress Capital Group

Cypress Capital Group cut its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,714 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 199 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Ventas were worth $395,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 34,973 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,060,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in Ventas by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,221 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 3,308 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 66.2% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 1.2% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 24,161 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,549,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total value of $27,548.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,128,143 shares in the company, valued at $80,098,153. The trade was a 0.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VTR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush raised their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $71.14.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VTR opened at $70.50 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business’s 50 day moving average is $61.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.51. The company has a market cap of $30.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 371.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.45 and a 12 month high of $71.04.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. On average, equities analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.48 dividend. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s payout ratio is currently 1,010.53%.

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.