AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Bought by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 22,575,892 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 30,092 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of AvalonBay Communities worth $4,966,019,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth about $66,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 312.5% during 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 in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AVB. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on 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. raised 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 research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB opened at $214.40 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $177.40 and a one year high of $239.29. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $217.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $222.78. The company has a market capitalization of $30.50 billion, a PE ratio of 28.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00.

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

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.23%.

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.