Waddell & Associates LLC Purchases Shares of 6,478 Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Waddell & Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 6,478 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $381,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in Ventas by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 34,973 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 5,186 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Ventas by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,221 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Ventas by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,644 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Ventas by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,171 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $187,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VTR opened at $63.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $27.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 333.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02. Ventas, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.45 and a 52 week high of $71.36. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.41. 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 (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 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, equities research analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 1,010.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VTR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush lifted their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total value of $27,548.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,128,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,098,153. This trade represents a 0.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 304,778 shares of company stock worth $20,934,891 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.