Rush Island Management LP Purchases 1,754,494 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Rush Island Management LP lifted its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 130.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,097,830 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,754,494 shares during the period. Ventas comprises 12.1% of Rush Island Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Rush Island Management LP owned 0.74% of Ventas worth $182,431,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VTR. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter worth $340,282,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Ventas by 60.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,207,553 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $365,563,000 after acquiring an additional 2,347,705 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Ventas by 1,489.5% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,456,112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $85,750,000 after acquiring an additional 1,364,504 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Ventas by 1,196.0% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,166,840 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $68,737,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076,803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ventas by 1.4% in 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 in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on VTR. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Baird R W upgraded shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.00.

Ventas Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of VTR stock opened at $64.78 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.66 and a 12 month high of $71.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business’s 50 day moving average is $66.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.96. The company has a market cap of $29.24 billion, a PE ratio of 340.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.95.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.02. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Ventas’s payout ratio is 581.82%.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total value of $27,548.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,128,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,098,153. This trade represents a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.76, for a total transaction of $93,025.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,750,467.04. The trade was a 5.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 311,481 shares of company stock worth $21,385,983. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

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.