Ventas (NYSE:VTR) Price Target Raised to $73.00

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) had its target price boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $71.00 to $73.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock.

VTR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wedbush boosted their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.38.

Ventas Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE VTR opened at $67.84 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $62.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.67. Ventas has a one year low of $41.45 and a one year high of $71.04. 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 has a market cap of $29.66 billion, a PE ratio of 357.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. Analysts expect that Ventas will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1,010.53%.

Insider Activity

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 1,128,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,098,153. This represents a 0.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ventas

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at about $340,282,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 3,523,594 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Ventas by 105.2% in 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 buying an additional 2,778,408 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Ventas by 60.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,207,553 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $365,563,000 after buying an additional 2,347,705 shares during the last quarter. 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 buying an additional 1,754,494 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.