Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Buys 13,631 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 10.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 141,642 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after acquiring an additional 13,631 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Ventas were worth $9,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VTR. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ventas during the fourth quarter worth $340,282,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Ventas by 60.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Rush Island Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 130.6% during the 4th quarter. Rush Island Management LP now owns 3,097,830 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $182,431,000 after purchasing an additional 1,754,494 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Ventas by 1,489.5% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,456,112 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $85,750,000 after buying an additional 1,364,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at about $67,719,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Ventas Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Ventas stock traded up $0.06 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $62.93. 2,707,497 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,887,820. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 190.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.87. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $64.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.99. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $50.88 and a 1-year high of $71.36.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last issued 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 the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 581.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Mizuho boosted their target price on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ventas currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 17,374 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.22, for a total value of $1,133,132.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 168,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,980,700.08. This trade represents a 9.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 9,110 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.04, for a total transaction of $601,624.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at $75,661,697.80. This trade represents a 0.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 165,586 shares of company stock worth $10,997,929. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.