Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires Shares of 5,310 Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 5,310 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $313,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Ventas by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,501,010 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,916,244,000 after purchasing an additional 912,813 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Ventas by 2.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,557,480 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,767,261,000 after purchasing an additional 599,600 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,948,546 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $643,207,000 after acquiring an additional 537,253 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,347,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,133,172 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $361,184,000 after acquiring an additional 335,192 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other Ventas news, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.76, for a total value of $93,025.84. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.23, for a total transaction of $1,509,405.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 116,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,429.50. This represents a 16.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 165,586 shares of company stock worth $10,997,929 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

NYSE:VTR remained flat at $63.25 during trading hours on Wednesday. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,470,746 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,760,478. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $28.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 332.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95. The business's 50-day moving average price is $66.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.93. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.06 and a 12 month high of $71.36.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.02. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. Ventas's payout ratio is 581.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wedbush raised their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.00.

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.