EntryPoint Capital LLC Raises Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 129.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,240 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake 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 worth $2,097,971,000 after buying an additional 196,938 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,590,539 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $1,009,781,000 after buying an additional 27,629 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,060,497 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $914,627,000 after acquiring an additional 55,588 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,585,802 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $805,113,000 after acquiring an additional 27,988 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,266,701 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $498,606,000 after acquiring an additional 26,265 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AVB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on 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. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $229.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of AVB stock opened at $212.61 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $217.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $222.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.24 billion, a PE ratio of 28.01, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.40 and a 52-week high of $239.29.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 92.23%.

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.