AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB Shares Bought by NewEdge Wealth LLC

NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 55.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,429 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 3,011 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $1,498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,800,375 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,639,876,000 after acquiring an additional 127,693 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 2.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,445,499 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,938,326,000 after purchasing an additional 182,952 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the second quarter worth about $1,394,225,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 6.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,215,821 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $814,376,000 after purchasing an additional 249,171 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,875,614 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $785,551,000 after purchasing an additional 57,599 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE:AVB opened at $177.32 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $166.73 and a fifty-two week high of $230.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $178.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $183.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.65, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.76.

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

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AVB. Colliers Securities restated a “neutral” rating and set a $195.00 price target (down previously from $200.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $179.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Friday, January 9th. UBS Group reduced their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $199.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.