Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Grows Stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 52,224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,070 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $11,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter worth $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter worth $39,000. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 38.6% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 201 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter worth $51,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in 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 worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Timothy J. Naughton sold 23,697 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were 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 directly owns 87,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,367,689.33. This represents a 21.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AVB shares. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday. 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 for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Scotiabank cut their price target 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. Barclays cut their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $243.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $234.60.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $214.48 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $30.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $223.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $221.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.37 and a 12 month high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.10). AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 36.20% and a return on equity of 8.84%. The firm had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $731.67 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $1.70 dividend. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 93.02%.

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.