Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Increases Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 89.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,324 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 38,800 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Ventas were worth $4,848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Ventas by 66.2% during the fourth 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 $41,000. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 3rd quarter valued at $64,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of VTR stock opened at $68.18 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $60.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.08. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $29.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 358.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.45 and a 12 month high of $68.52.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 EPS 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share 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 of this dividend 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 2.82%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 1,010.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VTR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Baird R W raised shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.71.

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.