Strategic Blueprint LLC Takes $382,000 Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Strategic Blueprint LLC bought a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 1,737 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $382,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AVB. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 338,796 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $74,525,000 after purchasing an additional 2,209 shares in the last quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Vert Asset Management LLC now owns 63,461 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $13,960,000 after buying an additional 5,350 shares during the period. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,192 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $482,000 after buying an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,062 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 35.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,617 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $815,000 after acquiring an additional 949 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective 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 lowered their price objective for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $243.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $234.60.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.7 %

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $221.51 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.30, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.99. 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 fifty-two week low of $169.37 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.45.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $734.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 93.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities

In other news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.47, for a total transaction of $5,532,538.59. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 87,239 shares in the company, valued at $20,367,689.33. This represents a 21.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.