Bank OZK Has $1.75 Million Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Bank OZK boosted its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,962 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 215 shares during the quarter. Bank OZK’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $1,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth $634,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 16,696 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $3,673,000 after buying an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth $23,513,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 12,179 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,679,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Scotiabank cut their price target on 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. Barclays cut their price target on 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AVB opened at $226.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.80, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $218.79 and a 200-day moving average of $223.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $174.46 and a fifty-two week high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.75 dividend. This is a boost from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.23%.

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.