Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $498.61 Million Position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,266,701 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 26,265 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $498,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AVB. US Bancorp DE increased its position in AvalonBay Communities by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 19,431 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $4,377,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,139 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.3% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 51,154 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $11,523,000 after buying an additional 1,152 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 11.5% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 65,826 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $15,110,000 after buying an additional 6,811 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 12.2% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 336,587 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $75,816,000 after buying an additional 36,732 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on AVB shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays decreased their target price 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 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 cut AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Down 2.1 %

AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $223.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $218.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $223.65. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $177.40 and a 1-year high of $239.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. 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 3.13%. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio 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.