Signaturefd LLC Increases Stock Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,616 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 678.9% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,715,050 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $386,315,000 after buying an additional 1,494,872 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in AvalonBay Communities by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,245,028 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,097,971,000 after acquiring an additional 196,938 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in AvalonBay Communities by 51.7% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 554,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $121,927,000 after purchasing an additional 188,906 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter worth $35,153,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the fourth quarter valued at $23,513,000. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Zelman & Associates raised shares of AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays dropped their price objective on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $226.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target 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 investment 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 a consensus price target of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AVB opened at $209.49 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $29.80 billion, a PE ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $177.40 and a 12 month high of $239.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $217.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $222.93.

AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB) last released 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 net margin of 37.13% and a return on equity of 9.15%. 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. This represents a $7.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. AvalonBay Communities’s payout ratio is currently 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.