AvalonBay Communities, Inc. $AVB Shares Bought by Cetera Investment Advisers

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 29.0% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 40,354 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,068 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $6,592,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVB. Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 18,031.0% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 11,785,150 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $213,677,000 after buying an additional 11,720,150 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter worth about $1,394,635,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 15,065.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,801,071 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $326,552,000 after buying an additional 1,789,195 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 76.0% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,355,838 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $455,077,000 after acquiring an additional 1,017,286 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,159,950 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $935,551,000 after acquiring an additional 944,129 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE AVB opened at $185.82 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $187.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.70. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.10 and a 52-week high of $198.63. The firm has a market cap of $26.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by ($0.12). AvalonBay Communities had a return on equity of 8.58% and a net margin of 33.33%.The company had revenue of $777.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $772.37 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.82 EPS. Equities analysts predict that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AvalonBay Communities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $1.78 per share. This represents a $7.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is 116.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AVB. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $180.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $205.00 target price (up from $203.00) on shares of AvalonBay Communities in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $191.00 to $189.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $196.80.

About AvalonBay Communities

AvalonBay Communities, Inc (NYSE: AVB) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, redevelops and manages multifamily residential properties. The company focuses on professionally managed apartment communities, offering a range of rental housing options and related resident services. As a REIT, AvalonBay’s core activities center on the acquisition and development of apartment assets and the ongoing operations and leasing of those communities.

AvalonBay’s operating activities include ground-up development, strategic redevelopment of existing properties, property and asset management, and on-site leasing and resident services.