Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Shares Sold by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas trimmed its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 93.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,882 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 57,133 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Ventas were worth $229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Ventas by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 192,829 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,356,000 after buying an additional 17,055 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 61,405 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,616,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Ventas by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 60,079 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,538,000 after acquiring an additional 1,673 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its stake in Ventas by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 188,063 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,075,000 after purchasing an additional 23,332 shares during the period. Finally, one8zero8 LLC acquired a new position in Ventas in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,800,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 approximately $716,373. The trade was a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total value of $14,645,401.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,138,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,644,115.46. The trade was a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of VTR opened at $69.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $30.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 364.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $65.37 and its 200-day moving average is $63.31. 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 12 month low of $41.45 and a 12 month high of $71.04.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its earnings results 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%. Equities analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. This is a boost from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s payout ratio is presently 1,010.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank increased 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. Morgan Stanley increased 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 lifted 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. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.90.

Ventas 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.