Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Makes New $9.89 Million Investment in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund acquired a new position in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 167,909 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $9,888,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in Ventas by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 332,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $21,310,000 after buying an additional 24,300 shares during the period. abrdn plc increased its position in Ventas by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 961,359 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $61,878,000 after buying an additional 214,384 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its position in Ventas by 480.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 26,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,681,000 after buying an additional 21,700 shares during the period. Presima Securities ULC increased its position in Ventas by 38.0% during the 4th quarter. Presima Securities ULC now owns 439,942 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $25,908,000 after buying an additional 121,193 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ventas by 5.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,904,078 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $314,499,000 after purchasing an additional 231,352 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 3,866 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $243,558.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 11,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,373. This trade represents a 25.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on VTR shares. Wedbush raised their price target on Ventas from $69.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Ventas from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Ventas from $71.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.71.

Ventas Stock Performance

NYSE:VTR opened at $68.18 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.80 billion, a PE ratio of 358.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Ventas, Inc. has a twelve month low of $41.45 and a twelve month high of $68.52.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.83. Ventas had a return on equity of 0.82% and a net margin of 1.65%. On average, analysts anticipate that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is a positive change from Ventas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 1,010.53%.

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.