HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Buys 181 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,644 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Ventas were worth $396,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VTR. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new position in Ventas in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Ventas by 66.2% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ventas Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of VTR stock opened at $69.39 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.45 and a 12 month high of $71.04. The stock has a market cap of $30.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 365.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.35.

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, 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%. On average, research analysts expect 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 paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Ventas’s payout ratio is 1,010.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 41,294 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total value of $2,852,589.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,138,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,622,918.44. The trade was a 3.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on VTR. Mizuho upped their price objective on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wedbush increased their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. 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. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.90.

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.