Bank of New York Mellon Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,989,887 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 15,139 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.71% of Ventas worth $176,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VTR. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 66.2% in the 4th 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 during the period. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ventas in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 3rd quarter worth about $64,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new stake in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ventas Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Ventas stock opened at $68.81 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.45 and a 1-year high of $68.99. The company has a market capitalization of $30.08 billion, a PE ratio of 362.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $60.93 and a 200-day moving average of $62.17.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 1,010.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $70.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total transaction of $14,645,401.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,138,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,644,115.46. This trade represents a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 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 $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Ventas

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.