EntryPoint Capital LLC Increases Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 129.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,240 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,265 shares during the quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.2% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 196,938 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,590,539 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,009,781,000 after buying an additional 27,629 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,060,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $914,627,000 after buying an additional 55,588 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,585,802 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $805,113,000 after acquiring an additional 27,988 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,266,701 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $498,606,000 after acquiring an additional 26,265 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on AVB shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective 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 target price for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE:AVB opened at $212.61 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $217.75 and its 200 day moving average is $222.70. The firm has a market cap of $30.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.01, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.40 and a 52-week high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. Research analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.