LifePlan Financial LLC Cuts Stock Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

LifePlan Financial LLC trimmed its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,855 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 502 shares during the period. LifePlan Financial LLC’s holdings in Ventas were worth $875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VTR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Ventas by 2.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,557,480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,767,261,000 after purchasing an additional 599,600 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,671,227 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,710,426,000 after buying an additional 581,870 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,364,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,498,385,000 after acquiring an additional 982,795 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ventas by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,411,293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $665,559,000 after acquiring an additional 245,922 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Ventas by 105.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,420,322 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $347,605,000 after acquiring an additional 2,778,408 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Price Performance

VTR opened at $58.85 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.58. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.45 and a 52-week high of $67.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -346.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Ventas’s payout ratio is currently -1,058.76%.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 121,248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $8,022,980.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at $65,291,063.89. This represents a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on VTR. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Ventas in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ventas presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $67.13.

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.