Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Shares Acquired by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 4.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 260,916 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 11,903 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.06% of Ventas worth $17,941,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of VTR. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ventas in the first quarter worth $25,000. Franchise Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Ventas in the first quarter worth $32,000. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in Ventas in the first quarter worth $34,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Ventas by 175.2% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 622 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the period. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ventas in the first quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Ventas Stock Up 0.7%

VTR stock traded up $0.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $65.80. 2,415,741 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,920,864. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.79 and a 12 month high of $71.36. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.37. The company has a market capitalization of $29.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 199.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32.

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 1.36% and a net margin of 2.80%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Ventas's payout ratio is currently 581.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on VTR. Wall Street Zen lowered Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Scotiabank raised their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ventas news, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.23, for a total value of $1,509,405.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 116,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,492,429.50. This trade represents a 16.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 1,224 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.62, for a total value of $80,318.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $75,180,505.90. This represents a 0.11% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 305,622 shares of company stock worth $19,900,685 in the last three months. 0.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.