Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 68,312 Shares of Ventas, Inc. $VTR

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its stake in Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,982,847 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 68,312 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Ventas were worth $168,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the second quarter worth approximately $4,953,439,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Ventas by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,190,594 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $588,045,000 after purchasing an additional 253,019 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Ventas in the 2nd quarter valued at $501,850,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Ventas in the 2nd quarter valued at $451,822,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Ventas by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,981,404 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $442,349,000 after buying an additional 258,859 shares in the last quarter. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ventas Stock Performance

Shares of Ventas stock opened at $84.69 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $87.14 and a 200-day moving average of $86.43. The company has a market cap of $44.79 billion, a PE ratio of 159.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Ventas, Inc. has a 1-year low of $72.66 and a 1-year high of $101.60.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.85). The business had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. Ventas had a return on equity of 1.86% and a net margin of 3.86%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ventas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Ventas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 392.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VTR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Ventas from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ventas in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Evercore set a $100.00 price target on shares of Ventas and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Ventas from $102.00 to $91.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on shares of Ventas from $102.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.59.

Ventas Company Profile

Ventas, Inc (NYSE: VTR) is a real estate investment trust focused on healthcare and senior housing properties. The company owns, manages and develops a diversified portfolio of healthcare-related real estate, including senior living communities, medical office buildings, life science and innovation centers, and other properties serving healthcare providers and institutions.

Ventas generally leases its properties to healthcare operators, physicians, health systems, universities and research organizations.