Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Decreases Stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,967 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 454 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Ventas were worth $1,157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,327,000. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 12,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $724,000 after purchasing an additional 999 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter worth $232,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 12,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $739,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP increased its position in Ventas by 36.3% during the fourth quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 64,853 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,819,000 after acquiring an additional 17,271 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ventas Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE VTR opened at $66.08 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 stock has a market capitalization of $28.88 billion, a PE ratio of 347.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.93. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.45 and a 12-month high of $67.61.

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, beating 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.48 dividend. This is a boost 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1,010.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on VTR. Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Scotiabank increased their price target on Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush upped their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $69.14.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In other news, 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 value of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.