Farringdon Capital Ltd. Makes New Investment in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Farringdon Capital Ltd. bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,882 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $854,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at $66,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 312.5% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 42.6% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 442 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AVB shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Zelman & Associates upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley cut AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. BMO Capital Markets lowered AvalonBay Communities from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $237.47.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of AVB stock opened at $200.34 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $178.29 and a twelve month high of $239.29. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $211.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.37. The stock has a market cap of $28.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $1.75 per share. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.