ExodusPoint Capital Management LP Grows Stock Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 25.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 163,498 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 32,937 shares during the quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP’s holdings in Ventas were worth $9,628,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VTR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Ventas by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,501,010 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,916,244,000 after acquiring an additional 912,813 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 2.2% during 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 during the period. State Street Corp increased 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ventas by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,948,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $643,207,000 after buying an additional 537,253 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Ventas by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,802,402 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $341,703,000 after buying an additional 382,080 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Trading Down 5.8 %

Ventas stock opened at $65.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Ventas, Inc. has a 1 year low of $41.45 and a 1 year high of $71.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $65.89 and its 200-day moving average is $63.40. The company has a market cap of $28.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 345.01, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued 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, equities analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s payout ratio is presently 1,010.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Argus set a $75.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $27,548.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,128,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,098,153. The trade was a 0.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097. 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.