Chicago Capital LLC Takes Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Chicago Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 8,422 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $579,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VTR. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 4th quarter worth $340,282,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Ventas by 60.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,347,705 shares during the period. Rush Island Management LP lifted its position in Ventas by 130.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,754,494 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,364,504 shares during the period. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth about $67,719,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Ventas Price Performance

NYSE VTR traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $62.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,453,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,847,009. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 189.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.89. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.48 and a 1-year high of $71.36. 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 company's 50-day moving average is $65.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.88.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 EPS 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 company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. Ventas's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 581.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VTR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho upped their target price on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.76, for a total value of $93,025.84. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 69,592 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.59, for a total value of $4,494,947.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 168,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,874,630.76. This trade represents a 29.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 165,586 shares of company stock worth $10,997,929. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

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.