Venturi Wealth Management LLC Boosts Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 130.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 607 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 1,934 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 3,633 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $818,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,015 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AVB opened at $218.78 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $172.85 and a 12-month high of $239.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.12 billion, a PE ratio of 28.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $218.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $222.96.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. On average, analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AVB. Mizuho upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.64.

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.