Vanderbilt University Makes New $688,000 Investment in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Vanderbilt University purchased a new position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 10,013 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $688,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ventas during the fourth quarter worth approximately $340,282,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Ventas by 60.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,207,553 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $365,563,000 after buying an additional 2,347,705 shares in the last quarter. Rush Island Management LP grew its position in Ventas by 130.6% during the fourth quarter. Rush Island Management LP now owns 3,097,830 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $182,431,000 after buying an additional 1,754,494 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Ventas by 1,489.5% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,456,112 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $85,750,000 after buying an additional 1,364,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in Ventas during the fourth quarter worth approximately $67,719,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Argus set a $75.00 target price on Ventas in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.90.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 69,592 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.59, for a total transaction of $4,494,947.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 168,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,874,630.76. The trade was a 29.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.76, for a total value of $93,025.84. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,454 shares in the company, valued at $1,750,467.04. The trade was a 5.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 165,586 shares of company stock valued at $10,997,929 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of VTR stock traded up $1.18 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $63.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,872,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,855,107. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.48 and a fifty-two week high of $71.36. The company has a market capitalization of $28.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 192.82, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.89. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $65.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.91.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.02. Ventas had a return on equity of 1.36% and a net margin of 2.80%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.78 EPS. Ventas's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 581.82%.

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.