Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Shares Acquired by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 892,700 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 64,821 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Ventas were worth $52,571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Ventas by 54.2% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,495 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,892,000 after buying an additional 10,365 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Ventas in the 3rd quarter valued at about $241,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 302,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $19,428,000 after purchasing an additional 10,134 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 34,801 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,232,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Ventas by 14.5% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 320,087 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $20,527,000 after purchasing an additional 40,596 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird raised Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush boosted their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.90.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were 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 directly owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at $77,644,115.46. The trade was a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the 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 owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of VTR opened at $68.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.05 billion, a PE ratio of 361.81, a PEG 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. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $64.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.27. Ventas, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.45 and a 52 week high of $71.04.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 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%. Research analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s payout ratio is currently 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.