Advocate Group LLC Grows Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

Advocate Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 19.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,625 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,409 shares during the period. Advocate Group LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $4,827,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AVB. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. BOKF NA purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Fulcrum Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $191.00 to $187.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $212.00 to $198.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $203.00 target price (down from $208.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $197.00.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $166.09 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a one year low of $160.10 and a one year high of $215.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $172.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $179.06. The company has a market cap of $23.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.75.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.84 by $0.01. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 34.57% and a return on equity of 8.78%. The company had revenue of $767.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $766.38 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.78 per share. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 86.94%.

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.