Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Purchases Shares of 298 AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 298 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock, valued at approximately $66,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AVB. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 678.9% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,715,050 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $386,315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494,872 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,245,028 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,097,971,000 after purchasing an additional 196,938 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 51.7% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 554,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $121,927,000 after purchasing an additional 188,906 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at $35,153,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at $23,513,000. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:AVB opened at $209.49 on Friday. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $177.40 and a 12 month high of $239.29. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $217.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $222.93. 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 firm has a market cap of $29.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 forecast that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AVB shares. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of 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 research note on Friday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.64.

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.