Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Purchases 333,273 Shares of Ventas, Inc. $VTR

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 1,794.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 351,842 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 333,273 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned approximately 0.07% of Ventas worth $28,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VTR. Dynamic Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Ventas in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ventas Price Performance

NYSE VTR opened at $100.61 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $88.17 and its 200 day moving average is $84.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.25. Ventas, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.15 and a fifty-two week high of $100.84. The company has a market capitalization of $48.92 billion, a PE ratio of 182.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.70.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. Ventas had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 2.09%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Ventas’s payout ratio is currently 378.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VTR. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Ventas from $95.00 to $88.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Ventas in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. KeyCorp increased their price target on Ventas from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Ventas from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ventas presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.50.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other Ventas news, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 1,152 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.20, for a total value of $103,910.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 28,349 shares in the company, valued at $2,557,079.80. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Michael J. Embler acquired 2,500 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $78.81 per share, with a total value of $197,025.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 19,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,513,309.62. This represents a 14.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. 0.53% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Ventas

Ventas, Inc (NYSE: VTR) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in healthcare-related real estate. The company acquires, owns and manages a diversified portfolio of properties serving the healthcare continuum, including senior housing communities, skilled nursing facilities, medical office buildings, life science and research centers, and other properties leased to healthcare providers and operators. Ventas generates revenue through long-term leases, property management and selective development activities focused on meeting the real estate needs of the healthcare sector.

Ventas’ business model combines property ownership with active asset management and capital markets activity.