Quantbot Technologies LP Buys New Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 2,007 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $441,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth about $66,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 312.5% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 59.9% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 478 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $105,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AVB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB opened at $213.50 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $217.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.49. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $177.40 and a 12-month high of $239.29. The firm has a market cap of $30.37 billion, a PE ratio of 28.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. 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 (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 EPS 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, equities analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.23%.

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.