LPL Financial LLC Purchases 1,102 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

LPL Financial LLC raised its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,120 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,102 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.06% of AvalonBay Communities worth $17,624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,245,028 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,097,971,000 after acquiring an additional 196,938 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,590,539 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,009,781,000 after purchasing an additional 27,629 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 55,588 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,585,802 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $805,113,000 after buying an additional 27,988 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,266,701 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $498,606,000 after buying an additional 26,265 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AVB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $214.73 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $217.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $222.27. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.40 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29. The company has a market capitalization of $30.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is presently 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.