Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Acquires 295 Shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 58,579 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 295 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $12,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 8,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,880,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 66.8% during the fourth quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 17,277 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $3,800,000 after purchasing an additional 6,922 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 43,062 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $9,472,000 after purchasing an additional 1,348 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 132.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,756 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,778 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $611,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:AVB opened at $209.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $218.02 and a 200 day moving average of $223.38. 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 $177.40 and a 52 week high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. On average, research 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 will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 92.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AVB shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on 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 AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $238.64.

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.