Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Buys New Stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 36,268 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $7,978,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% in the third 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 in the last quarter. American Assets Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,014,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 63,174 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $13,070,000 after purchasing an additional 3,350 shares during the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 875.3% during the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 15,800 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 14,180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 284.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 146,429 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $32,983,000 after purchasing an additional 108,371 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

In other AvalonBay Communities news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 2,261 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.78, for a total transaction of $528,576.58. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 111,436 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,051,508.08. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE AVB traded up $0.77 during trading on Thursday, hitting $217.88. The stock had a trading volume of 445,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 546,418. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $30.99 billion, a PE ratio of 29.81, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $224.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $220.47. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.37 and a twelve month high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $731.67 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.66 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

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

About AvalonBay Communities

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.