State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Acquires 501 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 0.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 358,918 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Ventas were worth $23,017,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VTR. Sigma Planning Corp grew its stake in Ventas by 13.0% in the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 24,552 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 2,822 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Ventas during the third quarter valued at approximately $252,000. Carmel Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Ventas by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,752 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Ventas by 61.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 68,755 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,409,000 after purchasing an additional 26,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Townsend & Associates Inc grew its stake in Ventas by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 45,835 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,019,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:VTR traded up $0.70 on Friday, reaching $65.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,040,614 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,332,382. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Ventas, Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.45 and a 52-week high of $67.61. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $64.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -383.21, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.36.

Ventas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Ventas’s payout ratio is currently -1,058.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VTR shares. Wolfe Research upgraded Ventas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Ventas from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ventas from $52.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Ventas from $64.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.63.

Insider Transactions at Ventas

In related news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 90,795 shares in the company, valued at $5,900,767.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Peter J. Bulgarelli sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total transaction of $389,940.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 90,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,900,767.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Debra A. Cafaro sold 6,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.20, for a total value of $431,466.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 986,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,360,514.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,454 shares of company stock worth $9,263,815 over the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.