Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Purchases Shares of 787,391 Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 787,391 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $46,369,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.18% of Ventas as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VTR. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $340,282,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Ventas by 60.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,207,553 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $365,563,000 after acquiring an additional 2,347,705 shares during the period. Rush Island Management LP boosted its stake in Ventas by 130.6% in the fourth quarter. Rush Island Management LP now owns 3,097,830 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $182,431,000 after acquiring an additional 1,754,494 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings 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 during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,719,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VTR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wall Street Zen cut Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Argus set a $75.00 price target on Ventas in a report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total value of $27,548.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,128,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,098,153. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 17,374 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.22, for a total transaction of $1,133,132.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 168,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,980,700.08. This represents a 9.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 142,474 shares of company stock worth $9,516,072. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Ventas Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:VTR traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $64.25. 5,071,918 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,774,571. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $66.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.58 and a fifty-two week high of $71.36. The firm has a market cap of $29.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 338.18, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.02. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. Ventas's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Investors 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 yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is presently 581.82%.

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.