Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Shares Acquired by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 60.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,137,654 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 427,440 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.27% of Ventas worth $66,996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VTR. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Ventas by 66.2% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on VTR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Argus set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Ventas in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ventas has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.90.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total value of $14,645,401.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at $77,644,115.46. This represents a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ventas Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE VTR opened at $69.30 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $65.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.31. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.45 and a 12 month high of $71.04. 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 company has a market capitalization of $30.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 364.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. This is a boost from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s payout ratio is currently 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.