Venturi Wealth Management LLC Purchases 344 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 130.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 607 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $134,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AVB. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.7% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 9,004 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,028,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 3.5% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 7,776 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,752,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter worth approximately $210,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 6.3% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,321 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $523,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 15.3% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,449 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AVB. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. 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 target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

AVB stock opened at $218.78 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $172.85 and a 52 week high of $239.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $218.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $222.96.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced 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 net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. Analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.75 dividend. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.59%.

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.