Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Boosts Stock Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 35,945 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 634 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Ventas were worth $2,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new position in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter worth about $9,888,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,989,887 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $176,074,000 after purchasing an additional 15,139 shares in the last quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. now owns 4,316 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 779.5% in the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 385,324 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $22,692,000 after purchasing an additional 341,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 89.1% in the fourth quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 82,324 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,848,000 after acquiring an additional 38,800 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTR opened at $69.18 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $61.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 364.12, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. Ventas, Inc. has a one year low of $41.45 and a one year high of $69.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its quarterly 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 1,010.53%.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In related news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,644,115.46. This represents a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush raised their price objective 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. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Scotiabank raised 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ventas has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $71.14.

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.