HighTower Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 68,536 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 2,687 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ventas were worth $4,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Ventas by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Ventas by 1,039.4% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total value of $27,548.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,128,143 shares in the company, valued at $80,098,153. The trade was a 0.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ventas Stock Performance

NYSE:VTR opened at $67.67 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $63.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.07. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.45 and a twelve month high of $71.04. The company has a market capitalization of $29.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 356.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its 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 expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This is an increase 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 2.84%. Ventas’s payout ratio is presently 1,010.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on VTR shares. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Argus set a $75.00 price objective on Ventas in a report on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Baird R W raised Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ventas presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.90.

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.