Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Purchases 13,460 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 195,351 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying an additional 13,460 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina's holdings in Ventas were worth $11,504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Ventas by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ventas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 1,039.4% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 44,551 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.06, for a total transaction of $3,165,794.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at $81,413,086.70. This represents a 3.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 304,778 shares of company stock worth $20,934,891 in the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ventas Stock Performance

NYSE:VTR traded up $0.16 on Friday, reaching $67.79. 2,903,497 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,670,472. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.56. Ventas, Inc. has a 52 week low of $42.05 and a 52 week high of $71.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $29.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 356.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.02.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Ventas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas's dividend payout ratio is 1,010.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VTR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded 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. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Four equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.90.

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.