Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Increases Stock Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,851,476 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,920 shares during the period. Ventas makes up approximately 2.0% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned approximately 0.68% of Ventas worth $167,923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Ventas during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of VTR opened at $68.02 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.45 and a 1 year high of $71.04. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.25. The firm has a market cap of $29.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 358.00, 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. 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. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1,010.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 41,294 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $2,852,589.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,622,918.44. This represents a 3.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Argus set a $75.00 price target on Ventas in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wedbush boosted 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.90.

Ventas 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.