State of Michigan Retirement System Raises Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 118,605 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 4,700 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System's holdings in Ventas were worth $8,155,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cloud Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Ventas in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Franchise Capital Ltd bought a new position in Ventas in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in Ventas in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Ventas by 175.2% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 622 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ventas in the first quarter worth about $46,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Mizuho raised their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.90.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 9,110 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.04, for a total value of $601,624.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $75,661,697.80. The trade was a 0.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 17,374 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 121,035 shares of company stock worth $7,832,135. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Ventas Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:VTR traded up $1.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $64.76. 4,361,577 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,913,895. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $63.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.22. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.45 and a 52-week high of $71.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $29.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 196.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.87.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.02. Ventas had a net margin of 2.80% and a return on equity of 1.36%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 581.82%.

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.