Proficio Capital Partners LLC Buys Shares of 106,893 AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 106,893 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $23,513,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 312.5% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

NYSE:AVB opened at $226.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $218.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $223.35. The stock has a market cap of $32.17 billion, a PE ratio of 29.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $174.46 and a 52 week high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AVB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays dropped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Zelman & Associates upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus 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.