AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Bought by Horizon Investments LLC

Horizon Investments LLC raised its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,730 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $1,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 312.5% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AVB shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of AVB stock opened at $209.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $29.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.67, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $177.40 and a 1-year high of $239.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $217.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.21.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 92.23%.

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.