Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $1.21 Million Position in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 24,300 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $1,211,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VTR. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 151.1% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 796 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 82.7% in the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 718 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ventas by 421.7% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 986 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Ventas during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.18% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Price Performance

VTR stock opened at $43.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $43.30 and a 200-day moving average of $45.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $39.33 and a 12 month high of $50.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -392.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.26.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.17%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -1,636.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VTR. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ventas from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $46.00 price objective (down previously from $52.00) on shares of Ventas in a report on Monday, February 26th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ventas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $53.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ventas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Ventas in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.54.

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.