First Trust Advisors LP Has $48.75 Million Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 6.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 298,424 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,888 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.21% of AvalonBay Communities worth $48,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Reflection Asset Management bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Clearstead Trust LLC grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 56.0% in the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 156 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 160 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. BOKF NA bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AVB shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $193.00 to $191.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised AvalonBay Communities to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wolfe Research raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $209.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $196.80.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 0.0%

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $189.53 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company’s 50-day moving average is $187.49 and its 200-day moving average is $179.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.92 billion, a PE ratio of 27.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.77. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.10 and a fifty-two week high of $203.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.12). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 33.33% and a return on equity of 8.58%. The firm had revenue of $777.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $772.37 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.82 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.28 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $1.78 dividend. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.19%.

AvalonBay Communities Company 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.