PFG Investments LLC Raises Stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

PFG Investments LLC raised its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,199 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $264,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AVB. Narwhal Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth $1,229,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth about $613,000. High Probability Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 36.9% during the 4th quarter. High Probability Advisors LLC now owns 3,318 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $730,000 after acquiring an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 52,224 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $11,488,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Red Spruce Capital LLC raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 7,545 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,660,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 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 note on Tuesday, December 17th. 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 note on Wednesday, November 6th. 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. Morgan Stanley lowered AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $234.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB opened at $221.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.37 and a 1 year high of $239.29. The company’s fifty day moving average is $222.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $221.45.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $734.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $731.67 million. AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 36.20%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.04 earnings per share for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.02%.

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.