Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Makes New $8.14 Million Investment in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 138,241 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $8,141,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VTR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ventas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $340,282,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake 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 valued at $365,563,000 after acquiring an additional 2,347,705 shares in the last quarter. Rush Island Management LP grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 130.6% in the 4th 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 stake in shares of Ventas by 1,489.5% in the 4th 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 purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter worth about $67,719,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 44,551 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.06, for a total transaction of $3,165,794.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,413,086.70. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.23, for a total value of $1,509,405.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 116,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,429.50. This represents a 16.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 165,974 shares of company stock valued at $11,025,477 in the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush increased their price objective on 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 target on Ventas in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $73.00.

Ventas Stock Performance

VTR traded up $0.10 on Friday, reaching $64.25. 5,071,918 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,768,862. The company's 50-day moving average price is $66.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.93. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.04 and a fifty-two week high of $71.36. 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 $29.00 billion, a PE ratio of 338.18, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.32 billion. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 581.82%.

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.