Nicola Wealth Management LTD. Boosts Stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Nicola Wealth Management LTD. lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 12.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,650 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Nicola Wealth Management LTD.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $2,343,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,266,701 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $498,606,000 after purchasing an additional 26,265 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 41,511 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $9,131,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 27.0% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,758 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,647 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 466.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,088 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,784 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $612,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE AVB opened at $228.15 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $177.40 and a 52 week high of $239.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.45 billion, a PE ratio of 30.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $218.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $223.59.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.83 by ($0.03). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 9.15% and a net margin of 37.13%. As a group, research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 92.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on AVB. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $244.00 to $241.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Mizuho raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Company 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.