Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $18.09 Million Stock Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 20.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 307,202 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,838 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Ventas were worth $18,091,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 66.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas in the third quarter worth $64,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter worth $67,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ventas Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Ventas stock opened at $66.08 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.88 billion, a PE ratio of 347.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $60.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.90. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.45 and a 52-week high of $67.61.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. On average, analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s payout ratio is 947.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VTR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $69.14.

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.