Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 392 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 28,391 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 392 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Ventas were worth $1,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in Ventas by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 332,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,310,000 after acquiring an additional 24,300 shares during the period. abrdn plc increased its stake in Ventas by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 961,359 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $61,878,000 after acquiring an additional 214,384 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its stake in Ventas by 480.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 26,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,681,000 after acquiring an additional 21,700 shares during the period. Presima Securities ULC increased its stake in Ventas by 38.0% during the 4th quarter. Presima Securities ULC now owns 439,942 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,908,000 after acquiring an additional 121,193 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 5.0% in the 3rd 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. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VTR. Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush lifted their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ventas presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.14.

Ventas Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of VTR stock opened at $66.08 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 347.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.45 and a twelve month high of $67.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.96.

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, 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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. 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 dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s 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.