Ballentine Partners LLC Purchases 124 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,710 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AVB. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.9% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,092 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,088,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 109.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 32,987 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,825,000 after acquiring an additional 17,257 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 2,202 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.3% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 32,312 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,685,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 368.3% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 576 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:AVB opened at $213.72 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.37 and a 1 year high of $239.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $223.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $220.99. The stock has a market cap of $30.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.24, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $1.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 93.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of AvalonBay Communities stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total value of $5,532,538.59. Following the sale, the director now owns 87,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,367,689.33. This trade represents a 21.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays started coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $243.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.53.

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.