Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,882 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,007 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ventas were worth $5,470,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in Ventas by 7.9% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 24,300 shares in the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its stake in Ventas by 480.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 26,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 21,700 shares in the last quarter. Presima Securities ULC raised its position in shares of Ventas by 38.0% during the 4th quarter. Presima Securities ULC now owns 439,942 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,908,000 after buying an additional 121,193 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ventas by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,904,078 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $314,499,000 after buying an additional 231,352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Ventas by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 302,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $19,428,000 after buying an additional 10,134 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VTR. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $71.14.

Ventas Stock Performance

Ventas stock opened at $70.32 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 370.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s 50-day moving average is $61.37 and its 200 day moving average is $62.38. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.45 and a 1-year high of $71.00.

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

Ventas Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.48 dividend. This is an increase from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 1,010.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ventas 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total transaction of $14,645,401.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at $77,644,115.46. This represents a 15.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Company 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.