Woodline Partners LP Buys Shares of 25,087 Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 25,087 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $1,477,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VTR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Ventas by 2.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,557,480 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,767,261,000 after purchasing an additional 599,600 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ventas by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,695 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. acquired a new position in Ventas in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Ventas by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 43,192 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,544,000 after purchasing an additional 1,779 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Ventas by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,404 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 2,277 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other 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 transaction 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 44,551 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.06, for a total transaction of $3,165,794.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,413,086.70. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 166,394 shares of company stock valued at $11,235,529 in the last quarter. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE VTR traded down $0.71 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $64.34. 2,889,153 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,760,213. The company has a 50-day moving average of $66.55 and a 200-day moving average of $63.94. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.66 and a 52-week high of $71.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 338.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is currently 581.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on VTR shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $73.00.

About Ventas

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.