AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Purchased by Wedmont Private Capital

Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,094 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $231,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 201 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 368.3% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 576 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $243.00 target price for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.53.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total value of $5,532,538.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 87,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,367,689.33. The trade was a 21.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of AVB stock opened at $217.88 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $30.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.37 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $224.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $220.47.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. The business had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $731.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.66 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 93.02%.

AvalonBay Communities Company Profile

AvalonBay Communities, Inc is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the development, acquisition, ownership, and operation of multifamily communities. It operates through the following segments: Same Store, Other Stabilized, and Development or Redevelopment. The Same Store segment refers to the operating communities that were owned and had stabilized occupancy.