Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Grows Stake in Ventas, Inc. $VTR

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 1,794.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 351,842 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 333,273 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Ventas were worth $28,774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dynamic Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in Ventas in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VTR. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Ventas from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ventas from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Ventas in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Ventas from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.50.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other Ventas news, Director Michael J. Embler acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $78.81 per share, for a total transaction of $197,025.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 19,202 shares in the company, valued at $1,513,309.62. The trade was a 14.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,152 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.20, for a total value of $103,910.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 28,349 shares in the company, valued at $2,557,079.80. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Performance

Ventas stock opened at $100.61 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.25 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.15 and a 1-year high of $100.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 182.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50-day moving average is $88.17 and its 200 day moving average is $84.91.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.01). Ventas had a return on equity of 2.09% and a net margin of 4.25%.The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.88 EPS for the current year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 378.18%.

Ventas Company 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.