USS Investment Management Ltd Cuts Stock Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

USS Investment Management Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 30.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 91,646 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 39,195 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Ventas were worth $5,399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ventas in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 738 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ventas in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, State of Wyoming grew its position in shares of Ventas by 32.5% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 975 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Ventas Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:VTR opened at $63.68 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $28.74 billion, a PE ratio of 335.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.66 and a twelve month high of $71.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company's 50 day moving average is $66.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.94.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. Ventas's revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Ventas's payout ratio is 581.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In related news, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.76, for a total value of $93,025.84. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction of $27,548.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,128,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $80,098,153. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 311,481 shares of company stock worth $21,385,983. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price objective 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. Argus set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Ventas in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $73.00.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.