GeoWealth Management LLC Buys 2,361 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 26.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,204 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 2,361 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $2,464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter worth $1,499,050,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $1,009,781,000 after acquiring an additional 27,629 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 55,588 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,693,457 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $810,470,000 after acquiring an additional 107,655 shares during the period. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,130,108 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $688,527,000 after purchasing an additional 639,402 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AVB shares. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of 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. Zelman & Associates upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.47.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of AVB stock opened at $202.93 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $28.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.74, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $211.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $219.08. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $180.40 and a 52 week high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted 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%. Analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 92.23%.

AvalonBay Communities 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.