Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Shares Acquired by Employees Retirement System of Texas

Employees Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 21.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 257,899 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 45,500 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas owned 0.06% of Ventas worth $15,188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Ventas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $313,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 5,536 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter worth $367,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 501,361 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $29,525,000 after purchasing an additional 25,366 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in Ventas by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 223,711 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $13,174,000 after buying an additional 20,746 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on VTR shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wedbush boosted their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ventas currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.00.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of Ventas stock traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $64.25. 5,071,918 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,041,420. The business has a 50-day moving average of $66.42 and a 200-day moving average of $63.94. Ventas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.66 and a 1 year high of $71.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 338.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. 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 Ventas news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 69,592 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.59, for a total transaction of $4,494,947.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 168,364 shares in the company, valued at $10,874,630.76. The trade was a 29.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were 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 owns 27,454 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,750,467.04. This trade represents a 5.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 142,474 shares of company stock worth $9,516,072. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ventas Company 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.