US Bancorp DE Increases Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,794 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $4,354,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 1,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,060,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $914,627,000 after purchasing an additional 55,588 shares during the last quarter. American Assets Capital Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter worth about $1,014,000. West Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 875.3% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 15,800 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 14,180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Portfolio Design Labs LLC increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 27.0% in the fourth quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 22,356 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $4,918,000 after purchasing an additional 4,747 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $224.62 on Thursday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $177.40 and a 1 year high of $239.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $218.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $223.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.95 billion, a PE ratio of 29.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share (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, equities analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 92.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVB has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley cut AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays reduced their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Zelman & Associates raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AvalonBay Communities has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.