Proficio Capital Partners LLC Takes Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 97,668 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $5,752,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VTR. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Ventas by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 35,945 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,117,000 after buying an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,888,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Ventas by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,989,887 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $176,074,000 after acquiring an additional 15,139 shares during the last quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. lifted its position in Ventas by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. now owns 4,316 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 683 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in Ventas by 779.5% during the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 385,324 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $22,692,000 after purchasing an additional 341,510 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird raised Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ventas presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total transaction of $14,645,401.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,644,115.46. The trade was a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ventas Trading Up 1.6 %

Ventas stock opened at $70.32 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.38. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.45 and a 52-week high of $71.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $30.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 370.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its 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%. Analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is 1,010.53%.

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.