Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Stock Position Lifted by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 89.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 82,324 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,800 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Ventas were worth $4,848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Ventas during the third quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new stake in Ventas during the fourth quarter worth approximately $67,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ventas Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of VTR opened at $68.18 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $60.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 358.84, 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 $68.52.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. Analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s payout ratio is 1,010.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VTR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wedbush increased their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird raised Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $70.71.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.