CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Decreases Stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 11.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,675 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 482 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth about $66,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 312.5% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 42.6% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 442 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVB has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced 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. Eight 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.40.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 6.9 %

AVB stock opened at $191.69 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $177.40 and a 52 week high of $239.29. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $216.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its earnings results 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%. Equities analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 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.