Avestar Capital LLC Purchases New Stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Avestar Capital LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,115 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 678.9% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,715,050 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $386,315,000 after buying an additional 1,494,872 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter worth $581,960,000. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,245,028 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,097,971,000 after acquiring an additional 196,938 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 284.8% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 146,429 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,983,000 after purchasing an additional 108,371 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 54.8% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 259,531 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $58,459,000 after purchasing an additional 91,861 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:AVB opened at $217.97 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $31.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.99. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $172.85 and a twelve month high of $239.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $219.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $222.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 89.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AVB shares. Scotiabank cut their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Mizuho upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $243.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.73.

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.