California Public Employees Retirement System Has $67 Million Stock Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 60.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,137,654 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after purchasing an additional 427,440 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.27% of Ventas worth $66,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VTR. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 34,973 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $2,060,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Ventas by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 5,186 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Ventas by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,221 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Carmel Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Ventas by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,947 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank grew its holdings in Ventas by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 3,308 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Remove Ads

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTR traded up $0.20 during trading on Thursday, hitting $69.59. 5,569,378 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,613,897. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $65.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $30.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 366.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.45 and a 1-year high of $71.32.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date is 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

Several analysts recently issued reports on VTR shares. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Argus set a $75.00 target price on Ventas in a report on Friday, March 7th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 11,371 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total value of $14,645,401.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at $77,644,115.46. The trade was a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.