AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Bought by Global Retirement Partners LLC

Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 146.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 544 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $120,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 312.5% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 59.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 478 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank dropped their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.6 %

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $222.93 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.37, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $172.85 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $218.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $223.23.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. Equities research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.23%.

AvalonBay Communities 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.