Erste Asset Management GmbH Has $1.88 Million Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,500 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $1,880,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AVB. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 10.4% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,112 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in AvalonBay Communities by 35.7% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,652 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 2,014 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 5.7% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 30,793 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $6,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 284.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 146,429 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $32,983,000 after purchasing an additional 108,371 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AVB. 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. 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE AVB opened at $209.55 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $218.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $177.40 and a 1 year high of $239.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. As a group, research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $1.75 dividend. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.23%.

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.