Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $10.75 Million Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 6.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 156,304 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 11,605 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Ventas were worth $10,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ventas by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,221 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Ventas by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,989,887 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $176,074,000 after acquiring an additional 15,139 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Ventas by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 35,945 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $2,117,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,752,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ventas by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 29,448 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,734,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ventas Stock Performance

NYSE:VTR traded down $0.45 during trading hours 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 has a market capitalization of $28.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 190.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.89. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $50.38 and a twelve month high of $71.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $64.85 and a 200 day moving average of $63.93. 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 (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.32 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 2.80% and a return on equity of 1.36%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 581.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other news, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.23, for a total value of $1,509,405.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 116,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,492,429.50. This represents a 16.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 44,551 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.06, for a total transaction of $3,165,794.06. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,413,086.70. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 165,586 shares of company stock valued at $10,997,929 in the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on VTR. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. 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 note on Tuesday, March 18th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ventas presently has a consensus 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.