Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 66,187 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,923,700 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 66,187 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.67% of Ventas worth $201,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franchise Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Ventas during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in Ventas during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in Ventas by 175.2% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 622 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ventas during the first quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Ventas during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 17,374 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.22, for a total transaction of $1,133,132.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 168,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,980,700.08. The trade was a 9.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 9,110 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.04, for a total value of $601,624.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $75,661,697.80. The trade was a 0.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 121,035 shares of company stock worth $7,832,135 in the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ventas Trading Up 2.3%

NYSE:VTR traded up $1.48 on Friday, reaching $64.76. The stock had a trading volume of 4,361,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,910,234. The company has a market cap of $29.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 196.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm's fifty day moving average is $63.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.15. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.27 and a 12-month high of $71.36.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 581.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VTR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.90.

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.