Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $4.57 Million Stock Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,783 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,441 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $4,572,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AVB. Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,094 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,512 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Concentric Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Concentric Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,378 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $5,266,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,179 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,679,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AVB. Barclays cut their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley cut AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seven 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE AVB opened at $209.49 on Monday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.40 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $217.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $222.87.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. On average, analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is presently 92.23%.

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.