Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp decreased its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 536,489 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 149,925 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.13% of Ventas worth $31,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ventas by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,501,010 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,916,244,000 after acquiring an additional 912,813 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Ventas by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 27,557,480 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,767,261,000 after purchasing an additional 599,600 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Ventas by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,671,227 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,710,426,000 after purchasing an additional 581,870 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Ventas by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,364,810 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,498,385,000 after purchasing an additional 982,795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 2.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,411,293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $665,559,000 after buying an additional 245,922 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ventas Stock Up 0.7 %

VTR stock opened at $68.08 on Thursday. Ventas, Inc. has a one year low of $41.45 and a one year high of $71.04. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $64.60 and its 200 day moving average is $63.21. The firm has a market cap of $29.76 billion, a PE ratio of 358.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. On average, research analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 1,010.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VTR has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Argus set a $75.00 target price on Ventas in a report on Friday, March 7th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ventas currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.90.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total value of $27,548.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,128,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,098,153. This trade represents a 0.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.