Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $35.15 Million in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 159,810 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $35,153,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.11% of AvalonBay Communities as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AVB. MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 3,005 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $677,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth $126,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 18.9% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 76,652 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $17,266,000 after purchasing an additional 12,165 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 11.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 212,338 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $47,056,000 after purchasing an additional 22,076 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,060,497 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $914,627,000 after buying an additional 55,588 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock traded up $2.87 on Friday, reaching $202.93. 1,172,919 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 695,956. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $28.89 billion, a PE ratio of 26.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. The firm's 50 day moving average is $211.08 and its 200-day moving average is $219.08. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $180.40 and a one year high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last issued its 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio is currently 92.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho upgraded 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.47.

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.