Vontobel Holding Ltd. Has $992,000 Stock Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 378.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,839 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 13,318 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $992,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VTR. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Ventas by 862.7% during 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 valued at $252,160,000 after purchasing an additional 3,523,594 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Ventas by 105.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,420,322 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $347,605,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,408 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Ventas by 4.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,364,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,498,385,000 after purchasing an additional 982,795 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position 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 last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Trading Up 0.3 %

Ventas stock opened at $66.72 on Wednesday. Ventas, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.45 and a 52 week high of $67.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.99 billion, a PE ratio of -392.44, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.37. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04.

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 negative return on equity of 0.69% and a negative net margin of 1.38%. Equities research analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given 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 yield of 2.88%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1,010.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VTR. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush raised their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ventas 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.