Whittier Trust Co. Sells 761 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Whittier Trust Co. reduced its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,354 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 761 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $433,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Ventas by 11.9% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,040 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 748 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the third quarter worth $224,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Ventas in the third quarter valued at $1,365,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Ventas by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 60,052 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,851,000 after purchasing an additional 1,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ventas by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,904,078 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $314,499,000 after buying an additional 231,352 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of VTR opened at $66.91 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a one year low of $41.45 and a one year high of $71.04. The company has a market cap of $29.25 billion, a PE ratio of 352.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $64.00 and a 200-day moving average of $63.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. 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. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1,010.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total value of $14,645,401.38. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VTR. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.