Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. Buys New Shares in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 1,476 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $325,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,094 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,616 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,512 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,179 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,679,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,028 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $666,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Trading 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $216.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. The company has a market capitalization of $27.27 billion, a PE ratio of 25.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.75 dividend. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on AVB. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays cut 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. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.40.

AvalonBay Communities 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.