Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Shares Acquired by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 48.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,760 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,969 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Ventas were worth $2,341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VTR. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in Ventas in the 4th quarter valued at about $77,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in Ventas by 63,500.0% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 4,452 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 4,445 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. boosted its stake in Ventas by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 27,411 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,614,000 after buying an additional 1,197 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its holdings in Ventas by 40.4% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 225,367 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $13,272,000 after buying an additional 64,877 shares during the period. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at about $583,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VTR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Four research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.90.

Ventas Price Performance

VTR stock opened at $68.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.15. The firm has a market cap of $29.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 358.87, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. Ventas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.45 and a 1 year high of $71.04.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. On average, equities analysts predict 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 issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s payout ratio is currently 1,010.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total value of $14,645,401.38. Following the completion of 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 represents a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097 in the last ninety days. 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.