Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Acquires New Stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 273,340 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $16,097,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Ventas at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at about $340,282,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Ventas by 60.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,207,553 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $365,563,000 after buying an additional 2,347,705 shares during the last quarter. Rush Island Management LP raised its position in Ventas by 130.6% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 1,754,494 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Ventas by 1,489.5% in the 4th 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 in the 4th quarter worth $67,719,000. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total value of $14,645,401.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,138,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $77,644,115.46. This trade represents a 15.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 69,592 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.59, for a total transaction of $4,494,947.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 168,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,874,630.76. This trade represents a 29.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 381,073 shares of company stock valued at $25,880,930 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of VTR traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $64.19. The stock had a trading volume of 1,797,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,750,580. The company's 50-day moving average is $66.67 and its 200 day moving average is $63.94. The company has a market capitalization of $28.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 337.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.66 and a 12-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.

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 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 firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 581.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VTR. Argus set a $75.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank lifted 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.