Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Increases Stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 29.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,260 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AVB. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 59.9% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 478 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $126,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

AVB opened at $220.04 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $172.16 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29. The firm has a market cap of $31.30 billion, a PE ratio of 28.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $219.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $222.44.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. As a group, equities analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.53 EPS for the current fiscal 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 $1.75 dividend. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 89.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.73.

AvalonBay Communities 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.