Proficio Capital Partners LLC Takes $23.51 Million Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 106,893 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock, valued at approximately $23,513,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned 0.08% of AvalonBay Communities at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,260 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,060,497 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $914,627,000 after buying an additional 55,588 shares during the period. American Assets Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,014,000. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 875.3% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 15,800 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $356,000 after acquiring an additional 14,180 shares during the period. Finally, Portfolio Design Labs LLC increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 22,356 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $4,918,000 after buying an additional 4,747 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zelman & Associates raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI increased their target price 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, Mizuho raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

AVB traded down $4.42 on Tuesday, reaching $223.67. 369,418 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 618,515. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $177.40 and a twelve month high of $239.29. The stock has a market cap of $31.81 billion, a PE ratio of 29.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.99. 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $218.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $223.59.

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 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities's payout ratio is currently 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.