First Financial Bankshares Inc Purchases Shares of 45,825 AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

First Financial Bankshares Inc acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 45,825 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $8,852,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AVB. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 5.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,723 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $584,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,443 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,718,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 9,341 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,901,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 251,739 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $51,227,000 after purchasing an additional 36,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.0% during the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 21,620 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,400,000 after purchasing an additional 826 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:AVB opened at $176.30 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.96 billion, a PE ratio of 21.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.76. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $166.73 and a 52-week high of $230.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $178.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $183.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $767.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $766.38 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 34.57%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $1.78 dividend. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 85.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on AVB shares. UBS Group cut their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Citigroup decreased their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $198.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $193.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $200.91.

About AvalonBay Communities

AvalonBay Communities, Inc (NYSE: AVB) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, redevelops and manages multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on professionally managed apartment communities, offering a range of rental housing options and related resident services. As a REIT, AvalonBay’s core activities center on the acquisition and development of apartment assets and the ongoing operations and leasing of those communities.

AvalonBay’s operating activities include ground-up development, strategic redevelopment of existing properties, property and asset management, and on-site leasing and resident services.