Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Takes Position in Ventas, Inc. $VTR

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new stake in shares of Ventas, Inc. (NYSE:VTR) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 156,768 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $13,921,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VTR. Dynamic Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Ventas in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Silvant Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ventas during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ventas during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new position in Ventas in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 94.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VTR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays started coverage on shares of Ventas in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $99.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Ventas in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Ventas from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Ventas from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ventas from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.00.

Insider Activity at Ventas

In other Ventas news, Director Michael J. Embler purchased 2,500 shares of Ventas stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $78.81 per share, for a total transaction of $197,025.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 19,202 shares in the company, valued at $1,513,309.62. This represents a 14.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Ventas Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:VTR opened at $93.32 on Monday. Ventas, Inc. has a 12 month low of $66.38 and a 12 month high of $101.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $91.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.15. The company has a market cap of $47.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 172.81, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.69.

Ventas (NYSE:VTR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.01. Ventas had a net margin of 4.08% and a return on equity of 1.99%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. The firm’s revenue was up 21.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ventas, Inc. will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current year.

About Ventas

Ventas, Inc (NYSE: VTR) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in healthcare-related real estate. The company acquires, owns and manages a diversified portfolio of properties serving the healthcare continuum, including senior housing communities, skilled nursing facilities, medical office buildings, life science and research centers, and other properties leased to healthcare providers and operators. Ventas generates revenue through long-term leases, property management and selective development activities focused on meeting the real estate needs of the healthcare sector.

Ventas’ business model combines property ownership with active asset management and capital markets activity.