167,909 Shares in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) Purchased by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 167,909 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $9,888,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 34,973 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ventas by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,221 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank lifted its stake in Ventas by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 3,308 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $195,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Ventas by 66.2% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 527 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. lifted its stake in Ventas by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 5,434 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total value of $243,558.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 11,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ventas Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE VTR opened at $68.18 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $29.80 billion, a PE ratio of 358.84, 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. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $41.45 and a 12 month high of $68.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $60.52 and a 200-day moving average of $62.08.

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

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is 1,010.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho cut their target price on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush upped their price objective on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Baird R W raised Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $70.71.

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.