Ventas, Inc. $VTR Stock: Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Increases Holdings

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 175,247 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,712 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Ventas were worth $14,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ventas during the second quarter worth $4,953,439,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 3.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,190,594 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $588,045,000 after purchasing an additional 253,019 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the second quarter valued at $501,850,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Ventas in the 2nd quarter valued at $451,822,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Ventas by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,981,404 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $442,349,000 after purchasing an additional 258,859 shares during the period. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Ventas from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Ventas from $102.00 to $91.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $98.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $99.68.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTR opened at $90.36 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $86.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Ventas, Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.82 and a 12-month high of $101.60. The company has a market cap of $47.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 170.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.77.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.85). The business had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.77 billion. Ventas had a return on equity of 1.86% and a net margin of 3.86%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 392.45%.

Ventas Profile

Ventas, Inc. is a real estate investment trust focused on properties and services that support the health care and senior living sectors. Its portfolio includes senior housing communities, outpatient medical buildings, and research and life science facilities. The company owns and invests in properties across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Many of its communities and facilities are operated by health care and senior living providers, while Ventas provides real estate capital and asset management.