Sarasin & Partners LLP Has $1.79 Million Stake in Ventas, Inc. $VTR

Sarasin & Partners LLP reduced its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 25.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,123 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 6,851 shares during the quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings in Ventas were worth $1,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,948,003 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,876,856,000 after purchasing an additional 2,349,176 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 29,662,635 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,309,234,000 after buying an additional 735,620 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,988,943 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,001,447,000 after buying an additional 475,633 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Ventas by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,176,254 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $710,060,000 after buying an additional 2,000,341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Ventas in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $594,116,000. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VTR has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Ventas in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ventas from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $97.56.

Ventas Price Performance

NYSE:VTR opened at $92.22 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.38 and a 52-week high of $101.60. The company has a market cap of $47.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 170.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.44. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.05.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 385.19%.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In related news, Director Michael J. Embler purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $78.81 per share, with a total value of $197,025.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,513,309.62. This trade represents a 14.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,152 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.20, for a total value of $103,910.40. Following the sale, the director owned 28,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,557,079.80. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ventas Profile

Ventas, Inc (NYSE: VTR) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in healthcare-related real estate. The company acquires, owns and manages a diversified portfolio of properties serving the healthcare continuum, including senior housing communities, skilled nursing facilities, medical office buildings, life science and research centers, and other properties leased to healthcare providers and operators. Ventas generates revenue through long-term leases, property management and selective development activities focused on meeting the real estate needs of the healthcare sector.

Ventas’ business model combines property ownership with active asset management and capital markets activity.