Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 1,056 Shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund cut its stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 7.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,279 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 1,056 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Ventas were worth $578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Evoke Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,947,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Ventas by 405.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 171,194 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,532,000 after purchasing an additional 137,327 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Ventas by 4,831.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 231,856 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,556,000 after acquiring an additional 227,154 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,005,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ventas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,560,000. 94.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ventas

In related news, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 2,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.40, for a total transaction of $103,818.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 26,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,259,900.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CAO Gregory R. Liebbe sold 14,625 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.70, for a total transaction of $697,612.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $597,394.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 2,145 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.40, for a total value of $103,818.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,031 shares in the company, valued at $1,259,900.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,270 shares of company stock worth $1,672,966 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Ventas from $47.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ventas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ventas from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ventas presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.92.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of Ventas stock traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $53.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,370,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,816,651. The stock has a market cap of $21.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -282.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.33. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.94. Ventas, Inc. has a one year low of $39.33 and a one year high of $54.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.63.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 18th. Investors of record on Monday, July 1st were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 1st. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio is currently -947.32%.

Ventas 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.