New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $15.96 Million Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR - Free Report) by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 248,913 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after selling 43,100 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.06% of Ventas worth $15,963,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VTR. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its position in Ventas by 18.0% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 5,170 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 69.8% in the third quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 68,394 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,386,000 after purchasing an additional 28,120 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Ventas by 3.5% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 20,810 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management acquired a new stake in Ventas during the 3rd quarter valued at $234,000. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ventas by 250,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,501 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $389,940.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,900,767.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % 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 this link. In other Ventas news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $389,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,795 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,900,767.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 6,827 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.20, for a total value of $431,466.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,360,514.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 160,454 shares of company stock worth $10,441,215 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VTR shares. Scotiabank increased their target price on Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Ventas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ventas from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $61.00 to $71.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $63.63.

Ventas Stock Performance

NYSE:VTR traded down $1.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $63.22. 3,068,170 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,397,692. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.45 and a twelve month high of $67.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $63.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -371.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.36.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Ventas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,058.76%.

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.