iA Global Asset Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 9,904 Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 9,904 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $583,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VTR. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Ventas by 1,039.4% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VTR opened at $66.91 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $41.45 and a fifty-two week high of $71.04. The stock has a market cap of $29.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 352.16, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.10.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is a positive change 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 2.87%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1,010.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on VTR. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Argus set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Ventas in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ventas currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total transaction of $14,645,401.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,138,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,644,115.46. This trade represents a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.