Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Shares Bought by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. has increased its stake in Ventas, Inc. by 13.7%, acquiring 125,871 additional shares, bringing their total ownership to 1,044,611 shares valued at approximately $71.8 million.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Ventas, with price targets ranging from $72.00 to $75.00, indicating positive sentiment following upgrades from multiple firms.
• Ventas announced a quarterly dividend of $0.48, resulting in an annual yield of 2.8%, although the company's dividend payout ratio is significantly high at 446.51%.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 13.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,044,611 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 125,871 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.23% of Ventas worth $71,827,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ventas in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 1,334.6% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 373 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Franchise Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in shares of Ventas during the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VTR has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $70.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, June 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.90.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In other news, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.23, for a total transaction of $1,509,405.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 116,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,492,429.50. The trade was a 16.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 29,691 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.49, for a total transaction of $2,033,536.59. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 168,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,531,250.36. This represents a 14.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 376,932 shares of company stock worth $24,716,734. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Ventas Stock Down 1.3%

VTR stock traded down $0.86 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $67.65. 1,418,435 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,093,403. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 157.42, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Ventas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $56.68 and a 1 year high of $71.36.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. Ventas had a net margin of 3.61% and a return on equity of 1.75%. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

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.