Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 327,119 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 9,975 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.08% of Ventas worth $19,264,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Ventas by 862.7% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,932,017 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $252,160,000 after buying an additional 3,523,594 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 105.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,420,322 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $347,605,000 after acquiring an additional 2,778,408 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Ventas by 4.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,364,810 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,498,385,000 after purchasing an additional 982,795 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Ventas by 2.2% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in Ventas by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,671,227 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $1,710,426,000 after purchasing an additional 581,870 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VTR shares. Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Ventas from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $69.14.

Ventas Stock Performance

NYSE VTR traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $66.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,705,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,560,080. The stock has a market cap of $29.21 billion, a PE ratio of 351.69, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.79. Ventas, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.45 and a 52 week high of $67.61. 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 released 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 return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. Equities research analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 947.42%.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the firm'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 value of $243,558.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.00% 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.