Soros Fund Management LLC Makes New $32.39 Million Investment in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Soros Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 550,000 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $32,390,000. Soros Fund Management LLC owned about 0.13% of Ventas as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ventas during the fourth quarter worth about $340,282,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $365,563,000 after buying an additional 2,347,705 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,364,504 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ventas by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,501,010 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $3,916,244,000 after purchasing an additional 912,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 56.0% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,499,228 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $147,180,000 after acquiring an additional 896,717 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VTR traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $66.51. 2,895,597 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,701,102. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $45.95 and a twelve month high of $71.36. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $67.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $29.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 350.07, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is presently 581.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VTR shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Scotiabank increased 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. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Baird R W raised Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 44,551 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.06, for a total value of $3,165,794.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,145,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $81,413,086.70. The trade was a 3.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 304,778 shares of company stock valued at $20,934,891. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.