Wambolt & Associates LLC Has $1.36 Million Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Wambolt & Associates LLC lessened its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,197 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after selling 850 shares during the period. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $1,363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AVB. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,392 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $746,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 2,049 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $454,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its holdings in AvalonBay Communities by 129.7% in the fourth quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares in the last quarter. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in AvalonBay Communities in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 80,120 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $17,624,000 after buying an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.61% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AVB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Zelman & Associates upgraded AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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, Barclays reduced their price objective 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

NYSE AVB opened at $214.40 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $217.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $222.78. The firm has a market cap of $30.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.25, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.64. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 1 year low of $177.40 and a 1 year high of $239.29.

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

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $1.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.