Bank of New York Mellon Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,923,700 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 66,187 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.67% of Ventas worth $201,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at about $340,282,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Ventas by 60.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,207,553 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $365,563,000 after purchasing an additional 2,347,705 shares in the last quarter. Rush Island Management LP increased its stake in 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 valued at $182,431,000 after buying an additional 1,754,494 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 1,489.5% during 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 in the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,719,000. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Ventas Price Performance

VTR stock traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $63.38. 837,926 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,887,163. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $63.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.12. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.67 and a 52-week high of $71.36. The company has a market capitalization of $28.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 191.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 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.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is currently 581.82%.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other news, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.23, for a total transaction of $1,509,405.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 116,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,429.50. This trade represents a 16.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,661,697.80. This represents a 0.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 121,035 shares of company stock valued at $7,832,135. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

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.