AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Bought by Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt University lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 21.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,150 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,776 shares during the period. Vanderbilt University’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $2,233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Segment Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.1% during the third quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 1,268 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 2.7% in the third quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 1,934 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,094 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE AVB opened at $224.27 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $221.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.37 and a twelve month high of $239.29. The stock has a market cap of $31.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.68, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.00.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly 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 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. Equities analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 93.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total value of $5,532,538.59. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 87,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,367,689.33. This represents a 21.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AVB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $243.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $234.60.

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.