AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB Shares Acquired by Vert Asset Management LLC

Vert Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 69,583 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,817 shares during the period. AvalonBay Communities makes up approximately 4.2% of Vert Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Vert Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $12,616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AVB. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 21.0% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 44,760 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,646,000 after acquiring an additional 7,780 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 3.1% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 216,153 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $41,754,000 after acquiring an additional 6,511 shares during the period. Pensionfund PDN bought a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,648,000. Sun Life Financial Inc. increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 5.7% during the third quarter. Sun Life Financial Inc. now owns 161,087 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $31,117,000 after acquiring an additional 8,660 shares during the period. Finally, Allstate Corp increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 250.5% during the third quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 8,152 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,575,000 after acquiring an additional 5,826 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AVB shares. Wall Street Zen lowered AvalonBay Communities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. UBS Group lowered their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays dropped their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $217.00 to $202.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut AvalonBay Communities from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $172.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $197.00.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of AVB opened at $173.82 on Monday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.10 and a 1 year high of $213.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $171.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.30. The stock has a market cap of $24.18 billion, a PE ratio of 21.22, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.75.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $767.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $766.38 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.78% and a net margin of 34.57%.During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $1.78 per share. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.75. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $7.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 86.94%.

AvalonBay Communities Profile

AvalonBay Communities, Inc (NYSE: AVB) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, redevelops and manages multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on professionally managed apartment communities, offering a range of rental housing options and related resident services. As a REIT, AvalonBay’s core activities center on the acquisition and development of apartment assets and the ongoing operations and leasing of those communities.

AvalonBay’s operating activities include ground-up development, strategic redevelopment of existing properties, property and asset management, and on-site leasing and resident services.