Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Stock Holdings Increased by PGGM Investments

PGGM Investments boosted its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 207.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,185 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 6,201 shares during the period. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Ventas were worth $541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in Ventas by 7.9% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 332,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $21,310,000 after buying an additional 24,300 shares during the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 480.7% during the third quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 26,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 21,700 shares during the last quarter. Presima Securities ULC grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 38.0% during the fourth quarter. Presima Securities ULC now owns 439,942 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,908,000 after purchasing an additional 121,193 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 5.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,904,078 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $314,499,000 after purchasing an additional 231,352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 3.5% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 302,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $19,428,000 after purchasing an additional 10,134 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 41,294 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.08, for a total transaction of $2,852,589.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,622,918.44. This represents a 3.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VTR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho lowered their target price 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 raised Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.20.

Ventas Stock Performance

VTR opened at $66.91 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 352.19, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.45 and a 1-year high of $71.04. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $62.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.88.

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 return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. Research analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is 1,010.53%.

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.