UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Grows Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 162,337 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,916 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Ventas were worth $9,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VTR. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 7.9% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 332,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,310,000 after buying an additional 24,300 shares during the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 480.7% in the third quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 26,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 21,700 shares during the period. Presima Securities ULC raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 38.0% during the fourth quarter. Presima Securities ULC now owns 439,942 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,908,000 after purchasing an additional 121,193 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 726.8% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,267 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 4,630 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Ventas by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,028,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $296,100,000 after buying an additional 123,937 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other Ventas news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total transaction of $14,645,401.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,644,115.46. This trade represents a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were 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 directly owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 260,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,769,097 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on VTR. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wedbush raised their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.90.

Ventas Price Performance

Ventas stock opened at $68.02 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.73 billion, a PE ratio of 358.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. Ventas, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.45 and a 52 week high of $71.04. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.25. 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 (NYSE:VTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

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

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.