Optas LLC Takes Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Optas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,598 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $247,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Ventas by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,837 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC bought a new position in Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at about $232,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Ventas by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 190,776 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,235,000 after buying an additional 1,814 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in Ventas by 378.2% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 16,839 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $992,000 after acquiring an additional 13,318 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Ventas by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 791,706 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $46,623,000 after acquiring an additional 15,151 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other news, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,459 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.76, for a total value of $93,025.84. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,750,467.04. This represents a 5.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 9,110 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.04, for a total value of $601,624.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,145,695 shares in the company, valued at $75,661,697.80. This trade represents a 0.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 165,586 shares of company stock valued at $10,997,929. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VTR opened at $63.75 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $28.77 billion, a PE ratio of 335.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.89. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.34 and a fifty-two week high of $71.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $65.54 and a 200-day moving average of $63.89.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 581.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VTR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ventas from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Ventas from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Ventas from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ventas from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.00.

About Ventas

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.