Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Has $784,000 Holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund cut its holdings in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 6.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,232 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 824 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Ventas were worth $784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of Ventas during the 2nd quarter valued at about $135,425,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ventas in the second quarter valued at approximately $73,517,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its stake in shares of Ventas by 217.4% in the second quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 856,525 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $43,905,000 after buying an additional 586,676 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ventas by 1,247.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 496,531 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,452,000 after buying an additional 459,689 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Ventas in the 1st quarter valued at $19,551,000. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other news, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 121,248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.17, for a total value of $8,022,980.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,291,063.89. This represents a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 90,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,900,767.05. The trade was a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,454 shares of company stock valued at $9,263,815 over the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VTR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $61.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Wedbush lifted their price target on Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.63.

Ventas Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of VTR stock opened at $63.60 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $26.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -374.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $64.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.96. Ventas, Inc. has a one year low of $41.45 and a one year high of $67.61.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -1,058.76%.

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.