AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Shares Purchased by Cibc World Markets Corp

Cibc World Markets Corp raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 12.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 63,781 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,934 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $14,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AVB. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the third quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 312.5% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AVB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Mizuho raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently 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 $211.70 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $218.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $223.32. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $177.40 and a twelve month high of $239.29. The company has a market capitalization of $30.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.80 earnings per share 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, equities research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $1.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend 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.