Teacher Retirement System of Texas Acquires 111,289 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 2,866.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 115,171 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 111,289 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Ventas were worth $7,919,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VTR. Franchise Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Ventas by 175.2% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 622 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Ventas Trading Down 0.4%

VTR stock traded down $0.26 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $62.75. 3,120,021 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,893,245. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $51.57 and a one year high of $71.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.32 billion, a PE ratio of 190.15, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $64.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.14.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.32 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 2.80% and a return on equity of 1.36%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Ventas's payout ratio is presently 581.82%.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 9,110 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.04, for a total value of $601,624.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,661,697.80. This represents a 0.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Carey S. Roberts sold 23,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 121,035 shares of company stock valued at $7,832,135. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on VTR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.90.

Ventas Company 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.