Perpetual Ltd Buys 1,750 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Perpetual Ltd increased its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 18.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,020 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,750 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $2,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 201 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter worth $51,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 59.9% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 478 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on AVB. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays began coverage on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $243.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total transaction of $5,532,538.59. Following the sale, the director now owns 87,239 shares in the company, valued at $20,367,689.33. This trade represents a 21.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $219.17 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $224.19 and a 200 day moving average of $220.93. The company has a market cap of $31.17 billion, a PE ratio of 29.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.99. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.37 and a 12-month high of $239.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.02%.

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.