AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Acquired by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,975 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,115 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $6,374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 312.5% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

AVB opened at $226.17 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $218.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $223.35. The firm has a market cap of $32.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.80, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $174.46 and a twelve 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 0.68.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly 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%. Equities research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.23%.

AvalonBay Communities Company Profile

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.