AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Acquired by Smartleaf Asset Management LLC

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,784 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $612,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,094 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 3,633 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $818,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position 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 worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AVB. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 0.9 %

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $228.15 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $218.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $223.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.06, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.99. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.40 and a 52-week high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 92.23%.

About AvalonBay Communities

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.