OFI Invest Asset Management Buys Shares of 3,624 AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 3,624 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $770,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 312.5% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

NYSE AVB opened at $218.45 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $177.40 and a 1 year high of $239.29. The business’s fifty day moving average is $218.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $223.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted 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, research analysts forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 yield of 3.20%. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is presently 92.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AVB shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Zelman & Associates upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.64.

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.