First Trust Advisors LP Increases Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 223,074 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,356 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.16% of AvalonBay Communities worth $43,091,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AVB. PFG Investments LLC grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 62.0% in the 2nd quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 162 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 564 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in AvalonBay Communities by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 8,126 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,654,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 5,779 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,116,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AVB. Colliers Securities reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $225.00 to $222.50 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $190.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $217.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $199.66.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $170.95 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $166.73 and a 1 year high of $217.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $177.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.37. The company has a market capitalization of $23.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.75.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $767.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $766.38 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 34.57%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 85.47%.

AvalonBay Communities Profile

AvalonBay Communities, Inc (NYSE: AVB) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, redevelops and manages multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on professionally managed apartment communities, offering a range of rental housing options and related resident services. As a REIT, AvalonBay’s core activities center on the acquisition and development of apartment assets and the ongoing operations and leasing of those communities.

AvalonBay’s operating activities include ground-up development, strategic redevelopment of existing properties, property and asset management, and on-site leasing and resident services.