Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Increases Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,783 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock after buying 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 & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings 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 worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 3.1% in 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 grew its position 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 increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 0.6% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AVB shares. Mizuho upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Zelman & Associates upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays decreased their price target on 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. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven 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, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AVB stock traded down $0.91 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $213.18. 659,421 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 630,652. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.40 and a 52-week high of $239.29. The stock has a market cap of $30.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.09, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. The stock's 50-day moving average is $217.69 and its 200 day moving average is $222.64.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. As a group, analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.23%.

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.