AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Stock Holdings Boosted by Principal Securities Inc.

Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 916 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AVB. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,094 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.7% in the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 3,633 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $818,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,097 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays cut 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, February 19th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

NYSE AVB opened at $221.12 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $31.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.99. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $172.85 and a 1 year 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $218.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $223.15.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly 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, sell-side analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.59%.

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.