Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Has $277,000 Stock Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 29.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Segment Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 4.1% in the third quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 1,268 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.7% in the third quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 1,934 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $436,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,094 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their target price 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. Morgan Stanley cut AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Zelman & Associates upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.73.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 1.0 %

AVB opened at $220.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.99. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $172.16 and a one year high of $239.29. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $219.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $222.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. Equities research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.59%.

AvalonBay Communities 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.