Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Purchases 25,000 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 8.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 308,000 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 25,000 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Ventas were worth $15,788,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VTR. First Community Trust NA bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ventas in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in Ventas during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas in the second quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Ventas in the 2nd quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Price Performance

Shares of VTR stock opened at $62.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $25.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -329.30, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $60.80 and its 200 day moving average is $52.23. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $39.33 and a 1-year high of $65.64.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The real estate investment trust reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.74). Ventas had a negative return on equity of 1.63% and a negative net margin of 3.33%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is presently -947.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $389,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 90,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,900,767.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Ventas news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $389,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 90,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,900,767.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Robert F. Probst sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.87, for a total value of $1,177,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 156,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,207,444.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 77,065 shares of company stock valued at $4,526,464. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VTR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Wedbush raised their price target on Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $61.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.11.

Ventas 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.