ProShare Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 102,297 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 8,579 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in Ventas were worth $6,024,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VTR. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 37,842 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,229,000 after purchasing an additional 4,559 shares during the last quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new stake in Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at $371,000. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lifted its holdings in Ventas by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 109,871 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $6,470,000 after buying an additional 4,357 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter worth about $3,682,000. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 5,924 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 1,402 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on VTR shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Argus set a $75.00 price objective on Ventas in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total transaction of $14,645,401.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at $77,644,115.46. The trade was a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.76, for a total transaction of $93,025.84. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,454 shares in the company, valued at $1,750,467.04. The trade was a 5.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 311,481 shares of company stock worth $21,385,983 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ventas Price Performance

NYSE:VTR traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $63.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,578,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,745,151. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.66 and a 52-week high of $71.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The business's 50-day moving average is $66.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.94. The company has a market capitalization of $28.74 billion, a PE ratio of 335.18, a PEG 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, research analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 581.82%.

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.