Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Has $1.56 Million Stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 7,079 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 573 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $1,557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,060,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $914,627,000 after acquiring an additional 55,588 shares in the last quarter. American Assets Capital Advisers LLC bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,014,000. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 875.3% during the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 15,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 14,180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Portfolio Design Labs LLC grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 22,356 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,918,000 after acquiring an additional 4,747 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.9 %

AVB stock opened at $228.15 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $218.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.59. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $177.40 and a 1-year high of $239.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.45 billion, a PE ratio of 30.06, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on AVB shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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 report on Tuesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price target on 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Company 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.