Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC Sells 661 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,858 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 661 shares during the quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ventas were worth $757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Ventas by 2.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,557,480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,767,261,000 after purchasing an additional 599,600 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 66.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 90,963 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,357,000 after buying an additional 6,800 shares during the period. Eastern Bank increased its position in shares of Ventas by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 3,308 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth $1,182,000. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ventas Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of VTR stock opened at $63.72 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $67.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.96. 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 1 year low of $46.66 and a 1 year high of $71.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 335.39, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.02. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. Ventas’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Ventas’s payout ratio is presently 581.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on VTR. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho increased their target price on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $77,644,115.46. This trade represents a 15.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 310,022 shares of company stock valued at $21,292,957. 0.80% of the stock is owned by 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.