Banco Santander S.A. Sells 1,666 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Banco Santander S.A. trimmed its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 18,141 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,666 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $1,068,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Ventas by 862.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,932,017 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $252,160,000 after acquiring an additional 3,523,594 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Ventas by 105.2% in the third 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Ventas by 4.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,364,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,498,385,000 after acquiring an additional 982,795 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 599,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,671,227 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,710,426,000 after purchasing an additional 581,870 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ventas Stock Up 0.2 %

Ventas stock opened at $67.84 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $29.66 billion, a PE ratio of 357.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Ventas, Inc. has a one year low of $41.45 and a one year high of $71.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $62.15 and a 200 day moving average of $62.67.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.48 dividend. This is a boost from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 1,010.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VTR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Scotiabank upped their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wedbush upped their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Argus raised Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total value of $14,645,401.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at $77,644,115.46. This represents a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097 over the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Ventas

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.