Arizona State Retirement System Has $7.09 Million Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 120,462 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,495 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Ventas were worth $7,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in Ventas by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 332,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $21,310,000 after purchasing an additional 24,300 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 480.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 26,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,681,000 after buying an additional 21,700 shares in the last quarter. Presima Securities ULC boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 38.0% during the 4th quarter. Presima Securities ULC now owns 439,942 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,908,000 after buying an additional 121,193 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,904,078 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $314,499,000 after buying an additional 231,352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 302,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $19,428,000 after buying an additional 10,134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction of $27,548.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,128,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,098,153. This trade represents a 0.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VTR shares. Wedbush increased their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Argus upgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.38.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of VTR opened at $67.84 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.45 and a 12-month high of $71.04. The business’s fifty day moving average is $62.15 and its 200 day moving average is $62.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market cap of $29.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 357.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1,010.53%.

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.