AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) Holdings Raised by Assetmark Inc.

Assetmark Inc. grew its position in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,244 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 936 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $3,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 312.5% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. 92.61% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of AVB stock opened at $218.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $177.40 and a 1 year high of $239.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $218.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $223.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.08 billion, a PE ratio of 28.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00.

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, research analysts expect that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 11.48 EPS for the current year.

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company 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 positive change from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is 92.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.64.

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.