Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Shares Sold by Farmers Trust Co.

Farmers Trust Co. trimmed its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,342 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 303 shares during the quarter. Farmers Trust Co.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Ventas by 2.2% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 599,600 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Ventas by 2.2% in 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. FMR LLC lifted 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 worth $1,498,385,000 after buying an additional 982,795 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ventas by 2.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,411,293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $665,559,000 after buying an additional 245,922 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Ventas by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,931,538 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $304,047,000 after buying an additional 96,482 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 121,248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $8,022,980.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at $65,291,063.89. The trade was a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 21st. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $61.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Ventas from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.67.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTR opened at $58.23 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.11. The company has a market cap of $24.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -342.51, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.37. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $41.45 and a one year high of $67.61.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1,058.82%.

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.