Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 918,740 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 79,557 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $53,572,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VTR. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in Ventas by 7.9% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 332,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $21,310,000 after acquiring an additional 24,300 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Ventas by 480.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 26,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 21,700 shares in the last quarter. Presima Securities ULC lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 38.0% in the 4th quarter. Presima Securities ULC now owns 439,942 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,908,000 after purchasing an additional 121,193 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ventas by 726.8% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,267 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 4,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Ventas by 2.5% during 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 buying an additional 123,937 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 388 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction of $27,548.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,128,143 shares in the company, valued at $80,098,153. The trade was a 0.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,373. This represents a 25.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 260,227 shares of company stock worth $17,769,097 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE VTR opened at $68.74 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $64.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.28. 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 company has a market cap of $30.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 361.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. Ventas, Inc. has a one year low of $41.45 and a one year high of $71.04.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 0.82%. Research analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders 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 2.79%. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 1,010.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VTR. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Baird R W raised Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com raised Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho upped their target price on Ventas from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Ventas from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $66.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with 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, Ventas presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.90.

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.