Greenleaf Trust Boosts Stock Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Greenleaf Trust grew its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 38.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 15,204 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,240 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Ventas were worth $758,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ventas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $185,774,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Ventas by 315.0% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,218,555 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $135,598,000 after purchasing an additional 2,443,076 shares during the last quarter. Resolution Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Ventas in the third quarter worth approximately $77,297,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ventas by 37.5% in the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,602,496 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $312,100,000 after purchasing an additional 1,801,365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Ventas by 7.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,246,452 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $937,243,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483,908 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Up 1.1 %

VTR opened at $43.13 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.51. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.33 and a fifty-two week high of $50.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $43.34 and its 200 day moving average is $45.03. The stock has a market cap of $17.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -392.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.26.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,636.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on VTR shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ventas from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $46.00 price target (down previously from $52.00) on shares of Ventas in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $48.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Ventas from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.54.

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.