Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 79,557 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 918,740 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 79,557 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.22% of Ventas worth $53,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 66.2% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Ventas by 1,039.4% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 809 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VTR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.90.

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Insider Activity at Ventas

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total transaction of $14,645,401.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,644,115.46. The trade was a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $716,373. The trade was 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 valued at $17,769,097. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of VTR stock traded up $0.01 on Wednesday, reaching $69.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,500,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,983,069. The company has a market capitalization of $30.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 364.40, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $65.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.31. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $41.45 and a 12-month high of $71.04.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 2.77%. Ventas's payout ratio 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.