AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Stock Holdings Decreased by Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. reduced its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 827,751 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 29,490 shares during the period. AvalonBay Communities accounts for 2.2% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $182,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 29.6% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,060,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $914,627,000 after acquiring an additional 55,588 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 875.3% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 15,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 14,180 shares during the last quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC lifted its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 22,356 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,918,000 after acquiring an additional 4,747 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of AVB stock opened at $213.18 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.40 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.09, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $217.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is presently 92.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.