Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $1.77 Million Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lessened its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,869 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 118 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $1,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,189 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $702,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 40.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 314,110 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $69,148,000 after buying an additional 90,808 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,606 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 55,588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 11.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 212,338 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $47,056,000 after acquiring an additional 22,076 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE AVB opened at $218.28 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $225.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $220.50. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.37 and a 12-month high of $239.29. The company has a market cap of $31.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.86, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.99.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.10). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. The business had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $731.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. This represents a $6.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AVB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. 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 report on Thursday, November 14th. Mizuho raised shares of 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 research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $234.00 to $233.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $243.00 price objective on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.53.

Insider Activity at AvalonBay Communities

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

About AvalonBay Communities

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.