State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Grows Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 363,918 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned approximately 0.09% of Ventas worth $21,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 2.1% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,120 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $521,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 3,308 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 3.7% during the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,639 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 4.5% during the third quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 5,434 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VTR traded down $0.77 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $66.08. The company had a trading volume of 2,113,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,555,563. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.45 and a twelve month high of $67.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 347.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.37.

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

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. This is a boost from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas's payout ratio is presently 947.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on VTR shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wedbush boosted 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. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Ventas from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $69.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.