Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB) by 19.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,778 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in AvalonBay Communities were worth $611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AVB. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 678.9% during the 3rd 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 worth $386,315,000 after acquiring an additional 1,494,872 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,245,028 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $2,097,971,000 after acquiring an additional 196,938 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 51.7% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 554,290 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $121,927,000 after acquiring an additional 188,906 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,153,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 4th quarter worth approximately $23,513,000. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance

Shares of AvalonBay Communities stock opened at $211.70 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $218.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $223.32. The company has a market capitalization of $30.12 billion, a PE ratio of 27.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. has a 52 week low of $177.40 and a 52 week high of $239.29.

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

AvalonBay Communities Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $1.75 per share. This is an increase from AvalonBay Communities’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $7.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. AvalonBay Communities’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 report on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on AvalonBay Communities from $270.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Mizuho raised AvalonBay Communities from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $239.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded AvalonBay Communities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $236.00 to $223.00 in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AvalonBay Communities currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.64.

AvalonBay Communities Company 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.