The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases 10,134 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 3.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 302,947 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,134 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Ventas were worth $19,428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Ventas by 105.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,420,322 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $347,605,000 after acquiring an additional 2,778,408 shares during the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new position in Ventas during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $73,517,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its holdings in Ventas by 217.4% in the 2nd 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 period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Ventas by 1,247.7% in 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 last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Ventas by 341.4% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 570,112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,561,000 after buying an additional 440,966 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VTR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Ventas from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $61.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Wolfe Research raised shares of Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.63.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $389,940.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 90,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,900,767.05. This represents a 6.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 6,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.20, for a total transaction of $431,466.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 986,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,360,514.40. This trade represents a 0.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,079 shares of company stock worth $9,241,311 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of VTR opened at $64.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market cap of $26.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -376.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.36. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $64.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.07. Ventas, Inc. has a 52 week low of $41.45 and a 52 week high of $67.61.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is currently -1,058.82%.

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.