Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Increases Stock Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 19.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 42,857 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,903 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Ventas were worth $2,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 912,813 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 581,870 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ventas by 2.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,411,293 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $665,559,000 after buying an additional 245,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ventas by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,028,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $296,100,000 after purchasing an additional 123,937 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ventas Price Performance

VTR opened at $68.74 on Friday. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.45 and a twelve month high of $71.04. The firm has a market cap of $30.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 361.81, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.28.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 1,010.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VTR has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 214,679 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.22, for a total value of $14,645,401.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,138,143 shares in the company, valued at $77,644,115.46. This trade represents a 15.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.