Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Increases Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 4.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 229,275 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 9,119 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned about 0.05% of Ventas worth $15,765,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the 1st quarter worth approximately $65,000. Chicago Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the 1st quarter worth approximately $579,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the 1st quarter worth approximately $879,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 48.4% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 39,760 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,341,000 after acquiring an additional 12,969 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Ventas by 34.1% in the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 36,657 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,521,000 after buying an additional 9,315 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Ventas Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Ventas stock traded down $0.45 on Friday, hitting $62.89. 5,496,040 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,885,632. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $64.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. Ventas, Inc. has a 52 week low of $50.38 and a 52 week high of $71.36. The company has a market cap of $28.38 billion, a PE ratio of 190.56, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.89.

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 company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 2.80% and a return on equity of 1.36%. Ventas's revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The firm 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 yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Ventas's payout ratio is 581.82%.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 9,110 shares of Ventas 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 now directly owns 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.76, for a total transaction of $93,025.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,454 shares in the company, valued at $1,750,467.04. This represents 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 over the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on VTR. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Argus set a $75.00 price target on Ventas in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.