Ascent Wealth Partners LLC Has $1.08 Million Stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 18,393 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the period. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Ventas were worth $1,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 66.2% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in Ventas during the 3rd quarter worth $64,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth $69,000. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on VTR. Wedbush lifted their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Baird R W raised Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.14.

Ventas Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of VTR stock opened at $66.08 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.88 billion, a PE ratio of 347.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.45 and a 1-year high of $67.61. The business has a 50-day moving average of $60.20 and a 200 day moving average of $61.93. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1,010.53%.

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.